Complaint
A listener complained comments made by the Saudi Arabian Ambassador to the UK in an interview on the programme were inaccurate but had gone unchallenged. The ECU considered whether the programme met the requirements for due accuracy set out in the BBC Editorial Guidelines.
Outcome
The Ambassador, Prince Khalid bin Bandar Al Saud, said in his judgment “settlers” with extremist views had had now “occupied the Israeli government”, which had adopted an “extremist absolutist perspective”. He also said, referring to deaths and injuries especially those affecting children, “I don’t think we’ve seen this in a conflict, certainly not in recent memory”. The BBC’s Editorial Guidelines emphasise the need to ensure that content contains “sufficient challenge or context” but in the ECU’s view the Ambassador’s statements on the Israeli Government would have been understood by listeners to be an expression of his opinion, not a statement of fact. It was also clear the Ambassador was expressing his concern at the level of civilian casualties and inviting comparison, rather than offering precise statistical information.
Not Upheld