Counter terror police are ‘assessing’ whether action is required over the BBC’s Gaza documentary (Image: PA Images)
Counter terror police are “assessing” whether action is required over the ‘s controversial Gaza documentary, according to reports.
It comes after the revealed that Hoyo Films, the production company involved in the making of the show, .
It later emerged the boy is the son of Hamas’s Deputy Minister of Agriculture, Ayman Alyazouri. Hamas is designated a terrorist organisation by the UK, US, and other countries.
A Met Police spokesperson said: “We’re aware of a documentary about Gaza and we have received a number of reports raising concerns.
“Officers from the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command are currently assessing whether any police action is required in relation to this matter.”
The has been approached for comment in relation to the Met’s response.
It has already apologised for “serious flaws” in the making of the programme and said it has no plans to broadcast the documentary again or return it to its iPlayer streaming service.
Scotland Yard says it’s received a number of reports raising concerns about the documentary (Image: Getty)
An initial review of the programme by the said Hoyo Films told them the boy’s mother had been paid “a limited sum of money for the narration”.
Concerns had previously been raised by Shadow Culture Secretary Stuart Andrew that public funds had “indirectly supported a terrorist organisation”.
Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy held an “urgent meeting” with Chairman Dr Samir Shah, on Friday, seeking assurances that “no stone will be left unturned” by a fact-finding review commissioned by the ‘s Director-General, Tim Davie.
Abdullah Al-Yazouri speaks in the programme about life in Gaza amid the war between and Hamas which erupted after gunmen launched the deadliest attack on in its history. Over1,200 people were killed and more than 200 taken hostage.
Tel Aviv launched a massive military offensive against Hamas in Gaza after the October 7 attack. The war led to the deaths of more than 46,000 people, according to the territory’s Hamas-run health ministry.
A spokesperson said “serious flaws” were identified in the making of the programme. They added: “Some of these were made by the production company and some by the ; all of them are unacceptable.
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Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy is meeting the BBC’s Chairman Dr Samir Shah (Image: Getty)
” News takes full responsibility for these and the impact that these have had on the corporation’s reputation. We apologise for this. Nothing is more important than the trust that our audiences have in our journalism.
“This incident has damaged that trust. While the intent of the documentary was aligned with our purpose – to tell the story of what is happening around the world, even in the most difficult and dangerous places – the processes and execution of this programme fell short of our expectations.”
The spokesperson said that although the programme was made by an independent production company commissioned to deliver a fully compliant documentary the maintained ultimate editorial responsibility for what was broadcast.
In another statement, the ‘s board said mistakes made in producing the documentary were “significant and damaging to the “.
Mr Davie recently escalated the matter to the broadcaster’s Editorial Complaints Unit, which is separate from News. A fact-finding review is also being undertaken by Peter Johnston, Director of Editorial Complaints and Reviews, reporting directly to the Director-General.
The also faced criticism for pulling the documentary from , Anita Rani, Riz Ahmed and Miriam Margolyes. They were among more than 500 media figures who .
In an open letter addressed to Mr Davie, Dr Shah and the ‘s Chief Content Officer Charlotte Moore, hundreds of TV and film professionals and journalists called the decision to remove the documentary “politically motivated censorship”.