BBC assailed over refusal to show Gaza appeal

The BBC faced intense criticism on Saturday from the British government and campaigners after refusing to broadcast a charity appeal to raise emergency funds for people in the Gaza Strip.

The BBC is worried that broadcasting the appeal could compromise its impartiality and questions whether aid can be delivered efficiently in Gaza, where Palestinians say over 1,300 people died during Israel’s 22-day military offensive.

But the decision has provoked fierce criticism from Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s government and Muslim groups.

International Development Secretary Douglas Alexander has urged the BBC — which is publicly funded — to reconsider its decision.“I think the British public can distinguish between support for humanitarian aid and perceived partiality in a conflict,” he told BBC radio on Saturday.“I really struggle to see, in the face of the immense human suffering in Gaza at the moment, that this is in any way a credible argument.”The Muslim Council of Britain said the BBC’s decision not to show the appeal was “a serious dereliction of its public duty”.Its secretary-general Muhammad Abdul Bari added: “The excuses given by the BBC are simply untenable and the governors need to act quickly before the corporation’s image is irretrievably tarnished.”The BBC’s chief operating officer Caroline Thomson said that maintaining the BBC’s impartiality was “clearly in conflicts as controversial as this... a real issue for us”