Britain’s ‘public service broadcaster’ is keeping the public in the dark about UK support for Israel’s assault on Gaza, new research finds. Declassified researched the BBC’s online coverage of 16 aspects of UK policy towards Israel and the pro-Israel lobby. “It is high time for the corporation to be truly held to account and be reformed in the public interest”, leading media professor says.
by Mark Curtis
Part 6 - Lobby, what lobby?
Neither has any effort been made by BBC journalists to highlight the influence in the UK parliament exercised by the Israel lobby, notably Conservative Friends of Israel (CFI) and Labour Friends of Israel (LFI).
This is a major gap in reporting since these are among the largest lobbying forces in British politics, funding dozens of MPs to go on “fact-finding” visits to Israel.
CFI has been mentioned five times, LFI six times, in BBC reporting in the past 15 months.
In no article has the BBC flagged the possible influence of these groups over parliament or government policy-making.
This is a major gap in reporting since these are among the largest lobbying forces in British politics, funding dozens of MPs to go on “fact-finding” visits to Israel.
CFI has been mentioned five times, LFI six times, in BBC reporting in the past 15 months.
In no article has the BBC flagged the possible influence of these groups over parliament or government policy-making.
Indeed, in the BBC’s written news outputs, the Israel lobby appears not to exist at all: the term ‘Israel lobby’ has been used just once in quote marks.
Yet Declassified found that a third of Keir Starmer’s Cabinet, and no less than a quarter of UK MPs overall, have been funded by pro-Israel groups, including LFI.
In one article, the BBC reported that former foreign minister Sir Alan Duncan was under investigation by the Conservatives for saying that CFI was “doing the bidding” of the Israeli prime minister.
Yet Declassified found that a third of Keir Starmer’s Cabinet, and no less than a quarter of UK MPs overall, have been funded by pro-Israel groups, including LFI.
In one article, the BBC reported that former foreign minister Sir Alan Duncan was under investigation by the Conservatives for saying that CFI was “doing the bidding” of the Israeli prime minister.
This was followed by the report stating that “The Campaign Against Antisemitism said he was ‘invoking classic antisemitic tropes of Jewish power and disloyalty’”.
Duncan was later cleared by the Conservatives, but the BBC did not report this online.
Duncan was later cleared by the Conservatives, but the BBC did not report this online.
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