The Culture Secretary has said that the BBC âmade an errorâ by not referring to Hamas as terrorists in its coverage of the Israel-Hamas war.
Questioned by MPs on the Culture, Media and Sport Committee, Lucy Frazer would not be drawn to condemn Israel over allegations journalists are being locked out of Gaza.
She told MPs it was âwholly incorrectâ that she repeatedly brought up the BBCâs coverage of Gaza at a meeting with the corporation.
đ Today at 10am we'll be questioning @lucyfrazermp, Secretary of State at @DCMS
We'll cover a wide-range of topics within the Department and the Committee's remit
Read more and watch live đhttps://t.co/1TtUspiLvR pic.twitter.com/QCl87c1PDU
â Culture, Media and Sport Committee (@CommonsCMS) May 22, 2024
She said: âWe discussed during that meeting that the BBC did not refer to Hamas as terrorists, it was a matter that I had called the BBC out on publicly.â
Ms Frazer also said: âI think the BBC made an error⌠which I have been very public about, in refusing to recognise the term âterroristsâ.â
She also said that she âput forward a number of pointsâ and had told the âBBC she might raise it at the meetingâ.
The BBCâs current policy is that Hamas is described as a proscribed terrorist organisation.
During a robust exchange with John Nicolson MP, she was accused of taking five minutes to not express a view on the treatment of journalists by Israel.
![Cabinet meeting](http://image.assets.pressassociation.io/v2/image/production/5888b213dfe190025b0c566b3f85f886Y29udGVudHNlYXJjaGFwaSwxNzE2NDU5OTU3/2.75600831.jpg?w=640)
Mr Nicolson, SNP member for Ochil and South Perthshire, said: âI canât find you on the record anywhere condemning Israel for locking journalists out of Gaza.â
Ms Frazer defended her record saying that she has done âa number speechesâ about journalists reporting in the world and on the deaths of reporters in Gaza.
Mr Nicolson asked if she shared his âshockâ about the situation, and Ms Frazer said she was âvery keenâ to go to Israel.
He added: âItâs not a question of you having to be on the ground. In Israel, you donât have to go to Israel to have a belief in the principle of independent journalism, you canât visit every country in the world to do an on the ground report.â
Ms Frazer said she wanted to âlook at evidenceâ, and Mr Nicolson fired back, saying that if âjournalists are locked out of Gaza, you canât look at the evidence, by definitionâ.
âI will stand-up for those who are unable to do that,â she replied.
âI would like to, if youâre putting something to me. Itâs my job to assess the evidence. That is not a matter on which I have assessed the evidence. But I would be very interested to do so.â
Mr Nicolson continued: âThe committee will note that youâve been given more than five minutes to express a view on whether Israel should lock journalists out of Gaza and youâre choosing not to answer that question,â to which Ms Frazer responded: âIf that is the case, it is wrong. But I would like to look at the evidence.â
The Culture Secretary also backed Ofcom after it warned GB News that it faces fines or a revoking of its licence over recent breaches.
Ms Frazer was asked about a recent finding by the broadcasting regulator, which found that the Peopleâs Forum: The Prime Minister broke impartiality rules.
The watchdog said it was starting the âprocess for consideration of a statutory sanction against GB Newsâ following a âserious and repeated breachâ of the rules and the hour-long programme where Rishi Sunak took questions from the audience.
Ms Frazer said: âI think that Ofcom is doing its job in terms of making sure that the Broadcasting Code is complied with.â
When asked if the media regulator had been âtolerantâ of GB News, Ms Frazer appeared to defend Ofcom saying that it has âfound various breachesâ of the channel.
âI would say Ofcom is doing its job,â she added.
On the subject of BBC impartiality, Ms Frazer said the corporation âhas more work to do.â
She said: âWhat Iâm saying isnât controversial, the BBC needs to be impartial and I think that it isnât always impartial and that is something the director-general and the BBC accepts and this is one of their priorities and they say more work needs to be done.â
She added: âI do think the BBC has more work to do on impartiality and I think the BBC absolutely accepts that.â
Asked if the BBC has a âspecial burdenâ on impartiality that other branches of the media do not have, she told MPs: âAll public service broadcasters have particular duties, the BBC is special because it is governed by the charter and under the charter is has particular responsibilities and itâs governed by the charter because itâs funded by the taxpayer.â
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