Committee Member Grills Culture Secretary For ‘Putting Pressure’ On BBC To Call Hamas ‘Terrorists’

Scottish National Party MP John Nicolson grilled Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer on whether it was appropriate that she “put pressure” on the BBC over its journalism after she revealed that she’d urged the broadcaster to label Hamas as “terrorists” during a private meeting with BBC senior executives.

At a Culture, Media & Sport Committee hearing on Wednesday Frazer said that she had pushed for the change during a private board meeting that included the Director General, late last year. Frazer said that while a variety of issues were also discussed.

The BBC has faced pressure from senior government figures to adopt the term “terrorists” when referring to Hamas. However, the BBC has maintained its policy of using the term only in quotes, with World Affairs Editor John Simpson calling it a “loaded word.”

When asked about the meeting and unsure what was discussed, committee member Nicholson, shared more with the Culture Secretary: “I’m told that you kept returning to the issue of the BBC’s coverage of the war in Gaza.”

Frazer replied: “We discussed very clearly the position that the BBC did not refer to Hamas as terrorists. It was a matter that I had publicly called the BBC out on, I think, the previous week in a newspaper article.”

She continued: “I had previously asked my officials whether it was appropriate to do that, and they said it was, and I had told the BBC that I might raise it at the meeting.”

Frazer said that “it’s self-evidently the case that Hamas are terrorists and revolting in every regard” before repeating his concern that the BBC’s Gaza coverage had been a fixation for Frazer in the meeting: “They couldn’t get you off the subject of Gaza when they wanted to talk about about funding.”

The Culture Secretary denied this was the case.

The committee member switched tact: “Do you think it’s appropriate for you to put pressure on the BBC over its journalism and its use of individual words?”

Frazer replied: “I think the BBC made an error. which I’ve been very public about in its refusing to recognize the use of the term terrorists. and I put forward my points.”

Nicolson pressed again: “We’re agreed that Hamas are terrorists, but I’m a bit perplexed because having agreed that, aren’t you, when we’re talking about Gaza, aren’t you more shocked as a champion, I imagine, of independent journalism that Israel has locked journalists out of Gaza in order to hide what it’s doing in Gaza. And I’ve kind of searched. I can’t find you on the record anywhere condemning Israel for locking journalists out of Gaza.”

“I made a number of speeches, John,” the Culture Secretary replied. “You’re free to read them all about how journalists are treated across the world. And including referring to the high number of deaths that have taken place in Israel and Gaza.”

As the interaction grew more heated, Nicholson finished: “The committee will note that you’ve been given more than five minutes to express a view on whether Israel should lock journalists out of Gaza, and you’re choosing not to answer that question.”

Watch the hearing above.