‘I Should Have Been Clearer’: Host Nick Robinson Speaks Out After Israel ‘Murders’ Comment Sparks BBC Gaza ‘Bias’ Row

A Downing Street spokesperson also weighed in, emphasising that it was “absolutely paramount” the BBC retain impartiality. (Yui Mok/PA Wire URN:30804940)

BBC Radio 4 host Nick Robinson admitted his choice of words could have been “clearer” when he stirred controversy after referring to Israeli actions in Gaza as “murders” during an interview with Foreign Secretary Lord David Cameron on Monday.

In his final question to Cameron, who was doing the press rounds, Robinson asked: “Isn’t the real risk of where we are now that western governments appear to back Israel the moment that Israel is under attack, but when Israel attacks and murders tens of thousands of innocent Palestinians, we say the words but we do almost nothing?”

To this, Cameron responded: “I don’t think that’s right at all. Actually, over this weekend and into this week, people can see that the truly malign actor in this region is Iran, a country that has launched a state-on-state attack. And it’s this country, Iran, that is backing Hamas in Palestine, that’s backing Hezbollah in Lebanon, that’s backing the Houthis in the Red Sea.”

Outrage followed as senior Tories, including MP Theresa Villiers, called his comments “shocking bias” and demanded an investigation. Commentators at TalkTV asked whether the comment was “a hanging offence” with host Kevin O’Sullivan suggesting that “the mask had slipped.”

A Downing Street spokesperson also weighed in, emphasising that it was “absolutely paramount” the BBC retain impartiality and that “murders” would not be a term employed by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to describe the Israeli operation in Gaza.

Downing Street added: “Complaints should be raised to the BBC, to Ofcom, in the usual ways if people feel they have issue with the way in which the BBC reported that. More broadly, though, Israel is an ally of the UK, is the victim of a brutal terror attack and clearly has a right to defend itself. We should all be careful with our words at this time, particularly given heightened community tensions in the UK.”

Robinson, facing the backlash, took to social media on Monday after the show to clarify his intent and wrote: “I should have been clearer that I was not expressing my own view, let alone that of the BBC, when I used the word ‘murders’.”

https://twitter.com/bbcnickrobinson/status/1779832731041423623

He elaborated that his question was aimed at dissecting the morality or perceived bias of UK’s foreign policy amid escalating Middle Eastern tensions and defended the breadth of his interview, arguing it was a “lengthy and detailed exploration” of the UK’s stance within the broader geopolitical landscape.