'Conflict of interest' Letter from celebrities calls for removal of board member

More than 400 stars and media figures including Miriam Margolyes, Alexei Sayle, Juliet Stevenson and Mike Leigh have signed a letter to BBC management calling for the removal of a board member, Robbie Gibb, over claims of conflict of interest regarding coverage of the Middle East.

- Tara Conlan

Signatories also include 111 BBC journalists, the actors Zawe Ashton and Khalid Abdalla, the activist Shola Mos-Shogbamimu and the historian William Dalrymple, who express "concerns over opaque editorial decisions and censorship at the BBC on the reporting of Israel/Palestine".

Delivered on the eve of Channel 4's airing of the documentary Gaza: Doctors Under Attack, which the BBC commissioned but shelved as it said it "risked creating a perception of partiality", the letter alleges the decision to drop the film "demonstrates, once again, that the BBC is not reporting 'without fear or favour' when it comes to Israel".

It also accuses the BBC of being "crippled by the fear of being perceived as critical of the Israeli government" and claims the "inconsistent manner in which guidance is applied draws into focus the role of Gibb, on the BBC Board and BBC's editorial standards committee" as "we are concerned that an individual with close ties to the