The BBC has launched a review into Gaza: How to Survive a Warzone and is auditing the finances of producer Hoyo Films after identifying “serious” and “unacceptable” flaws in the programme.
The BBC board said there had been “significant and damaging mistakes” on the documentary, putting the blame on both the corporation and Hoyo.
The programme, which aired on BBC2 last week, has been pulled from iPlayer and there are no plans for its return, or any repeat broadcasts, pending the outcome of the investigation, led by director of editorial complaints and reviews Peter Johnson.
Johnston’s review will determine whether any editorial guidelines have been broken, address the complaints that have been made and help to establish whether any disciplinary action is warranted.
The controversy has centred on the fact that the child at the heart of the programme is the son of a Hamas government minister.
Two separate groups of industry figures have put pressure on the BBC – one demanding the pulling of the documentary and the other coming to its defence.
The BBC said it asked Hoyo Films in writing a number of times whether the child narrator’s family had any connection to Hamas.
It revealed that Hoyo was aware of the link, but did not tell the BBC until after the documentary was broadcast.
The corporation nevertheless stressed that “it was the BBC’s own failing that we did not uncover that fact and the documentary was aired”.
It further emerged that the indie paid the boy’s mother, via his sister’s bank account, a “limited sum of money” for writing the narration.
The BBC has asked Hoyo for the relevant financial accounts to ensure due diligence of expenditure on the film.
Producer response
Hoyo Films, run by the documentary’s director Jamie Roberts, has told the BBC that no payments were made to members of Hamas or its affiliates, either directly, in kind, or as a gift.
In its first statement since the documentary aired, Hoyo Films said: “Our was to make an engaging and insightful documentary about the lives of young people in Gaza. We felt it was important to hear from voices that haven’t been represented on screen throughout the war with dignity and respect – and to tell the story about the devasting impact of war on their everyday lives.
“We are cooperating fully with the BBC and Peter Johnston to help understand where mistakes have been made.
“We feel this remains an important story to tell, and that our contributors – who have no say in the war – should have their voices heard.”
In a statement, the BBC board said: “The subject matter of the documentary was clearly a legitimate area to explore, but nothing is more important than trust and transparency in our journalism. While the board appreciates that mistakes can be made, the mistakes here are significant and damaging to the BBC.
“The board has required the executive to report back at the earliest opportunity on the outcomes of the work the director general has commissioned.”
Earlier this week, former Channel 4 head of news and current affairs Dorothy Byrne hailed Roberts as a “brilliant young filmmaker” but said she would have withdrawn the film.
She criticised the BBC for its lack of due diligence and questioned the editorial choice for the boy to narrate the programme.
Byrne told Radio 4’s The Media Show: “This boy was reading out commentary clearly written by the filmmakers or the BBC about the history and geography of Gaza and current political events.
“You should not have had a child reading out commentary written by somebody else as if it was their own commentary. That was wrong.”
Byrne criticised the BBC’s initial response, which she said appeared to “dump the blame on the filmmakers”.
She added: “If I was making this film, I wouldn’t just ask who the boy was, but who is father was, who is mother was – I would ask for the entire family tree. I’d want to know who his brothers and uncles are.”
Ofcom keeps tabs
Ofcom can intervene in BBC investigations in "exceptional" circumstances - and while it is initially siting back while the BBC investigates, the regultor has not yet ruled out taking such measures in this case.
Ofcom chair Lord Grade highlighted the organisation's "ongoing concerns about the nature and gravity of these failings and the negative impact they have on the trust audiences place in the BBC’s journalism".
He added: "It is crucial that the causes of those errors are investigated, and that systems are put in place to ensure they can not recur,."
