THE BBC’s rush to blame Israel for the deadly Gaza hospital blast has had “real costs”, Britain’s security minister warned today.
Tom Tugendhat suggested the Corporation’s snap judgement had “serious” ramifications for both the conflict and wider tensions.
In a sobering on-air criticism, the former Army officer said: “Let’s be clear – this was not the BBC’s finest hour.”
Former Cabinet Minister Lord Eric Pickles was more strident in accusing the national broadcaster of “lapping up Hamas’ lies without basic due diligence”.
And Rishi Sunak's spokesman said the BBC must "learn lessons" of its "unfortunate" immediate coverage of the blast.
Several outlets were quick to swallow the terror group's version of events in the aftermath of the Al-Ahli hospital explosion on Tuesday night.
The Israel Defence Forces has since produced evidence – supported by Joe Biden – which points to a stray missile fired by Hamas-linked jihadists.
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The BBC was already facing fury for its continued refusal to call Hamas monsters “terrorists”.
Mr Tugendhat used a BBC interview to rebuke the publicly-funded Corporation for its coverage of the horrific hospital blast that killed hundreds of Palestinians.
He said: “On Tuesday night, many people did jump to conclusions – many people who we thought were more responsible than that – named organisations and named events that they were not certain of.”
“It’s incredibly important we don’t rush to judgement, and to see a BBC reporter say that the Israeli military are investigating, but it’s hard to see what else this could be other than an Israeli airstrike or several airstrikes is really serious. It has real costs.”
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He pointed to the breakdown of talks between President Biden and Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas.
And he highlighted the burning of a synagogue in Tunisia and heightened tensions in the UK.
He told Radio 4 presenter Nick Robinson: “Let’s be clear Nick this was not the BBC’s finest hour and I know that you’ll sympathise with that.”
Robinson said that report had been in the immediate aftermath of the explosion and that since then the BBC had said it was unclear who was categorically behind the blast.
'MASSIVE FAILURE'
International Editor Jeremy Bowen also said the IDF’s explanation was looking the more likely.
But ex-Tory Cabinet Minister Lord Pickles – chairman of the Conservative Friends of Israel – launched a devastating attack on the Beeb.
He tweeted: “The BBC has spent the last couple of weeks looking foolish over its inconsistent approach to terror groups by refusing to describe Hamas as terrorists; now it looks slapdash in its approach to news reporting.
“To lap up Hamas’s lies without basic due diligence is letting the licence payer down. There must be a thorough and frank inquiry into this massive failure.”
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