Failings in Gaza film 'a dagger' to BBC impartiality, says chair

Failings in the making of a documentary about children in Gaza are "a dagger to the heart" of the BBC's claims of trustworthiness and impartiality, the corporation's chair has said, as he indicated that figures inside the corporation had fallen short in their handling of the film.

- Michael Savage

Samir Shah said he believed "people weren't doing their job" in relation to the oversight of Gaza: How to Survive a Warzone.

The programme was pulled from iPlayer and an internal inquiry launched after it emerged that the boy who narrated the film, Abdullah al-Yazouri, was the son of Gaza's deputy minister of agriculture.

Speaking before MPs alongside the BBC's director general, Tim Davie, Shah described his "shock" at the failings that had emerged, which he said were made both by the independent production company and figures involved in the project at the BBC.

He said: "This is a really, really bad moment. What has been revealed is a dagger to the heart of the BBC's claim to be impartial and to be trustworthy, which is why I and the board are determined to ask the questions.

"The processes, the editorial guidelines and the standards the BBC has are very good. They're very strong. I have a worry that it wasn't so much the processes were at fault, as people weren't doing their job. That's what we need to really establish."