Lisa Nandy was put on the spot by LBC’s Nick Ferrari during a terse exchange in which she repeatedly refused to say whether the should call Hamas a terrorist organisation.
The culture secretary was speaking on Thursday, the same day Hamas released the bodies of four Israeli hostages, said to include a mother and her two young children, in the first time the remains of hostages have been released since a fragile ceasefire began in January.
Mr Ferrari asked Ms Nandy about the outcome of a review of its editorial guidelines after the row of its refusal to call Hamas terrorists.
He said: “That consultation ended last year. Did they inform you of what the outcome was on that specific consultation?”
Ms Nandy replied: “That’s a discussion that we’re about to have. I’ve got a meeting coming up with the senior management of the about this in particular.”
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Nick Ferrari grills culture secretary Lisa Nandy (Image: LBC)
Asked whether the call Hamas terrorists, Ms Nandy continued: “Well, look, I’m not going to get into telling broadcasters what to do.”
Mr Ferrari then asked Ms Nandy for her opinion and she said: “I’m absolutely not going to stray into that.”
He persisted, saying: “Even as we speak, I’m watching on what’s called a monitor here, what I will call Hamas terrorists returning the bodies of four dead Jewish people to the Red Cross to eventually go back to . I’d call that a terrorist activity. What would you call it?”
Ms Nandy said: “I would absolutely call that a terrorist activity. But the point that I’m making to you, Nick, is that if I start telling you or other broadcasters what they can or can’t do, how they broadcast the messages that they send out, if I start laying down the law about that, I think that’s a very slippery slope.
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Police officers in Tel Aviv salute as convoy transporting four released bodies arrives (Image: Getty Images)
“We saw it with the last Government, we had far too much political interference, the media exists in part to hold up a mirror to government to put us under scrutiny.
“It’s important that they’re able to act with independence and I will defend that with my last breath.”
The remains sent to on Thursday are believed to include those of Shiri Bibas and her two children, Ariel and Kfir, as well as British-linked Oded Lifshitz, who was 83 when he was abducted, and whose daughter is a UK citizen.
Kfir, who was nine months old when he was taken, was the youngest captive. Hamas has claimed all four were killed along with their guards in Israeli airstrikes.
Israeli women cry upon the arrival of the convoy of vehicles transporting the bodies (Image: AFP via Getty Images)
Formal identification could take up to two days as performs DNA testing.
Hamas abducted some 250 people in its attack on October 7, 2023, which triggered the war. More than 48,000 Palestinians in Gaza have been killed in the ensuing war, according to the Palestinian authorities.
This was the seventh exchange between and Hamas during the first phase of the ceasefire, freeing 24 hostages and 1,135 prisoners. However, no prisoners were released in exchange for the bodies.
Hamas had agreed to release 33 hostages for nearly 2,000 prisoners and detainees during this phase. Six hostages who are still alive are expected to be released on Saturday in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners.
Negations for a second stage of the ceasefire are expected to get underway in the coming days.