Tag: not for profit

BBC ‘bias’ in Gaza conflict


Report reveals in detail how the BBC has misreported the conflict

July 2026

The BBC is widely trusted. It promotes itself as an independent media organisation dedicated to giving fair balanced news and comments about what is happening in the world. A report by the Centre for Media Monitoring analysed the BBC’s output on the Gaza conflict and found it to be anything but balanced. Indeed it concluded that the ‘BBC is systematically biased against Palestinians in Gaza war coverage‘. They echo conclusions by Peter Oborne in his book Complicit [OR Books, 2025] who was extremely critical of their reporting of the conflict.

Not that these conclusions are new. Tom Mills in his book The BBC: Myth of a Public Service [Verso, 2016] concluded that it has ‘always sided with the elite‘. Despite the constant accusations by right-wing media interests for its left-wing bias, in fact he argues ‘its journalism has overwhelmingly reflected the ideas and interests of elite groups‘.

Gaza coverage

CfMM analysed thousands of BBC pieces as part of its research and came up with 4 main conclusions:

  • Palestinian deaths are treated as less newsworthy. Despite there being 34 times more deaths among Palestinians, the BBC gave Israel deaths 33 times more coverage.
  • BBC used emotive terms 4 times more for Israeli victims, applied ‘massacre’ 18 times more to Israeli casualties, and used ‘murder’ 220 times for Israelis in contrast to once for Palestinians. We have noted that the word ‘hostage’ was applied (correctly) for those seized by Hamas after the October 7th massacre, but the word ‘prisoner’ is used for those seized by Israel and held without trial and tortured. Prisoner implies some kind of due process has taken place which it hasn’t.
  • BBC presenters shut down genocide claims in over 100 documented instances whilst making zero mention of Israeli leaders’ genocidal statements, including Netanyahu’s biblical Amalek reference. The moment an interviewee mentions the G word, a BBC person will immediately interrupt and say that there has been no conclusion to the claims despite the massive evidence to the contrary and blatant statements by Israeli politicians to that effect.
  • The BBC interviewed significantly fewer Palestinians than Israelis (1,085 v 2,350) on TV and radio, while BBC presenters shared the Israeli perspective 11 times more frequently than the Palestinian perspective (2,340 v 217). The interviews themselves are often weak and unchallenging.

The full report is available here.

Reasons

We can only speculate on the reasons for the bias. One is the myth of BBC independence. This much touted merit is not always true. The Board is appointed by Government ministers and the organisation is under constant funding threats. The Charter is up for renewal soon in 2028.

A second aspect is the charge of anti-Semitism. Anti-Semitism is of course to be condemned but it has become a cover for any and all criticism of Israel. When Amnesty and Human Rights Watch published their reports on Israel’s Apartheid policy for example, the immediate and knee-jerk response was the charge of anti-Semitism and anti-Israel. It has led the BBC we would argue to an approach of extreme caution and nervousness.

The policy of balance is also a factor. Balance does not always mean equal. This arose with debates about climate change. A scientist would be interviewed with facts and data followed by a denialist such as Lord Lawson. They received equal coverage even though Lawson was not a scientist and seldom had any evidence to support his views. Viewers were left confused. Scientists gradually refused to be interviewed. The BBC has now stopped doing this (after many protests) although it should be stressed scientists are not always right and should be challenged: but challenged by someone competent.

The tragedy is that there are many Jewish people in the UK who are concerned about the extreme violence and genocide taking place in Gaza and the increasing tide of violence against Palestinians living on the West Bank. On a recent Any Answers programme, two Jewish men phoned in with their views. They did not fit the narrative as expected and the presenter was audibly disconcerted and tried vainly to counter their views. The grim future of Israel is discussed in the Jewish academic’s book Israel: What Went Wrong? [Fern Press, 2026].

Does it matter?

It matters because the BBC is a trusted source much needed in these days of mis- and disinformation and torrid material being produced by X and other online outlets. Generally, they perform well despite attempts at coercion and control. One has only to spend 10 minutes watching GBNews to witness what low standards mean.

It matters because they have a role in shaping public opinion. People were rightly angry at the seizing of hostages by Hamas and the frequent bulletins about the negotiations to secure their release increased that anger. The almost complete absence of reporting by the BBC of the seizure by Israel of medical staff and their incarceration, torture and sometimes death in an underground prison weakens their claims to be impartial.

It matters because this public opinion shapes political opinion and policies. The almost total failure by the BBC to report the hundreds of RAF overflights for example means a large chunk of British society is unaware of this help and other more covert help by our government for the regime. It means the government can continue selling arms with impunity thus playing a part in increasing the destruction of Gaza. It means the incarceration of those who support the Palestinian cause is made that bit easier because they have been labelled the ‘bad guys’. It means politicians like David Lammy can make provably misleading statements about reducing arms sales without being challenged. [David Lammy left government as this post was being written].

It matters because the distortion of language: for example selective use of words like ‘massacre’ and ‘hostage’ as we have noted above, means trust in the BBC is eroded.

The BBC fails to mention when interviewing various members of parliament, whether they are members of one or other of the Friends of Israel groups nor asks how much they have received for visits to the country. It does not ask them leaving the viewer or listener left in the dark. [To be fair, neither does the BBC nor other broadcasters ask interviewees if they are a member of one or other of the think tanks with their undeclared funding].

The organisation needs to shake off its fear of being called anti-Semitic and provide proper and balanced reports.

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The vigils continue


Vigil number 137 held on July 18th

We continue to hold vigils in Salisbury’s market place on Saturday evening. Last Saturday was the 137th such event. Thinly attended this time but we were briefly joined by 26 Brazilian students which was a delight.

We continue because the situation in the Middle East gets no better. We await how the new prime minister handles the situation in Gaza but he has already apologised for the party’s response and approach to the conflict which was very damaging. Sir Keir Starmer was so desperate to lay the ghost of ‘anti-Semitism’ that his response to Israel’s violence and destruction of the territory was distorted. Now David Lammy has made statements about the mistaken approach but it has to be noted that there was little sign of this up till now. He did not feel the need to resign.

Dr Hussan Abu Safiya

The UN said in a report last month:

“The UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel expresses its grave concern at credible reports that Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya, a Palestinian doctor and Director of Kamal Adwan Hospital in the Gaza Strip, has been subjected to continued and severe abuse since his detention by the Israeli authorities in December 2024.

“The Commission calls for the immediate, unconditional and safe release of Dr. Abu Safiya and of all medical personnel held in arbitrary detention by Israel. It also urges the Israeli authorities to provide immediate independent medical care for Dr. Abu Safiya.

“The continued arbitrary detention of Palestinian medical personnel and the severe mistreatment they are subjected to are deplorable and flagrant violations of international law. The actions of the Israeli Prison Service guards towards Palestinian detainees raise grave concerns of violations of international law that likely amount to international crimes. Dr. Abu Safiya’s medical condition is the direct result of these actions. The Commission underscores that persons deprived of liberty are protected against murder, torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment and sexual violence”.

He is held in an underground prison.

Israeli forces now occupy 65% of the Gaza strip in contravention of Trump’s peace plan. The number of Palestinians killed is 73,770 of whom 20,000 or more are children. The total is likely to be much higher with thousands buried and unaccounted for under rubble. 1,144 have been killed since the ceasefire in October.

Sources: Guardian, BBC, Al Jazeera, Copilot Search, UN,

Image courtesy Peter Gloyns

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Britain’s support for the arms trade


The UK hosts a major international arms fair

July 2026

The UK is an enthusiastic supporter of the arms trade, organising a fair at Farnborough ever other year in Hampshire. A thousand firms will attend and the ‘strategic sponsor’ is Barclays. It is curious to note in passing that the bank was founded by two Quakers and their early history was supporting Quaker businesses in the New World. Now they are supporting weapons firms. One of their values is ‘[being] passionate about leaving things better than we found them‘. One wonders what someone who has had a weapon dropped on them or a limb blown off feels about this value?

The firms themselves supply weapons to a range of conflicts around the world including the genocide in Gaza, Yemen, Lebanon and Syria. Some of UK weapons find their way to Sudan via the UAE one of our largest customers. Our old friends Elbit Systems are in evidence as well as Rafael, Israel’s largest missile maker.

Government support

The fair depends crucially on British government support which includes a dedicated arms sales unit in government, organisation of the fair, providing insurance cover in case firms do not get paid and finally, ready access to ministers and civil servants through what is called the ‘revolving door’. This is the highly dubious process by which ex ministers, former civil servants and ex military officers secure lucrative consultancy work or directorships with the firms to help lobby for their activities.

The insurance is provided by Exports Credit Guarantees and the amount may surprise readers. A total of 20 countries have defaulted on payments: some you might expect like Iraq, Cuba and Serbia because of conflicts, but others include Pakistan, Egypt and Argentina. The total is just under £3 trillion which is added to the national debt. It is worth pondering this for a moment because one of the hotly disputed political debates at present is over the welfare bill and some politicians and pundits are arguing for it to be cut to enable tax cuts. The quite staggering level of funding support for arms companies is never mentioned by these same politicians. Three trillion is £3,000, 0000, 000, 000. This figure may be an underestimate because the report makes clear some data has been lost.

Discovering quite what is being exported is not easy. The government likes to claim it has a robust arms sales policy but the facts seem to suggest otherwise. One has only to look at the countries to which we sell to see that ‘robust’ is not a word one would use. It issues what are called Standard Individual Export Licences [SIEL] of which there were 10,400 in 2025. The problem is approximately half of sales are under ‘open license’ making the reporting unreliable.

Ministers cannot always be trusted. David Lammy MP said in parliament that sales to Israel were being reduced once the destruction of Gaza became too great to ignore. Later analysis of Israel’s import data showed sales by the UK had in fact increased.

When we speak of arms sales, the photographs often show fighter jets, missile systems and other items of large scale military kit. We must not overlook that it is the millions of small weapons such as rifles, machine guns, grenades and so forth which cause so much damage to ordinary people. It is these weapons which kill and maim especially women and children.

Our continued support for the likes of Elbit Systems who make the drones which have killed many and made the lives of the people of Gaza such a misery, is shaming. Huge efforts have been made to stamp down on protests and hundreds of protestors have been arrested and gaoled.

There will be much glad-handing at Farnborough and no doubt a minister will speak about the contribution to our economy and jobs created. But we cannot escape the plain fact that this is an industry who’s products are designed to kill people. It could be argued that we need to defend ourselves and our partners in NATO for example. While that may be true, firms are busy supplying weapons to unstable, undemocratic and often brutal regimes who are using them to inflict misery on millions of people. Few questions are asked and the notion of a ‘robust regime’ is for the birds. The revolving door is alive and well – a process so steeped in corruption it is astonishing it has survived so long.

Sources: CAAT, SIPRI (Sweden), MoD, Barclays Bank, Salisbury CND

Picture: Dorset Eye

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British woman tried on an American base


US force personnel being tried on their bases for crimes they committed off base and off duty

July 2026

The rape, drugging and strangulation of a British woman by a US pilot may have gone completely unnoticed. Sarah Steele, an academic, had a relationship with a US air force pilot during which violence was used and she alleged he had unprotected sex without her wishes. She had a drug etizolam in her blood stream. This is an increasingly popular date rape drug especially when combined with alcohol.

Those who followed the Brexit arguments a decade ago will recall that one of the arguments used by those wishing to leave the European Union was a desire to ‘take back control’ and the related issue of sovereignty. These arguments persist today with a desire for the UK to leave the European Convention. There an almost uncountable number of articles to this effect.

Yet here we have a serious and significant breach of UK sovereignty with a British woman having been savagely raped, being tried by American men on an American base in front of an American colonel with a stars and stripes flag behind him. Apart from the Guardian newspaper – the only journalists to be present – none of those same newspapers who relentlessly disparaged the EU were present. There is little sign of them having followed the story up either. Could it be possible that as many of them are American owned they have declined to soil their pages with the story?

Primitive treatment

The treatment of Ms Steele was primitive by UK legal standards. Apart from the whole thing being run by men and colleagues of the airman accused (who declined as was his right to give evidence) the Americans imported a particularly aggressive lawyer for cross-examination. His name is Tim Bilecki. He specialises in courts marshals and flies around the world defending servicemen. There are pages and pages of encomia on line (we gave up after 8 pages of them).

In court he accused her of being a ‘sex obsessed liar’. He said she was financially motivated and had fabricated the allegations as part of an elaborate scheme to win compensation. The cross-examination lasted hours and was distressing she reported. The gravity of the offence should have attracted a sentence of around 5 years maybe more. The jury decided on 6 months and he has been dismissed from the service. Another quirk is that at the time of this trial, juries could decide on sentencing in American court proceedings (in some states). That has now ended.

He can appeal but an added twist is that the appeal will take place in Maryland. Can we guess the result of that appeal?

The question has to be – who on earth in Cambridgeshire police agreed to cede jurisdiction to the Americans? The offence took place against a British woman off base. It is not the only such case. The government is looking into the circumstances of this case and others so we must hope for a more robust response in future. And where are our media when it comes to shining a spotlight on this behaviour? With threatened takeover of more of our TV networks by US companies, it is a warning that the lack of reporting of outrageous cases such as this is a real prospect. Justice must not only be done but must manifestly and undoubtedly be seen to be done. Not hidden away on a US base.

The whole question of these bases came into the spotlight with the attack on Iran. Sir Keir Starmer is said not to have allowed our bases to be used for American aggression. As President Trump is no longer interested in NATO, what future for their bases on British soil?

NOTE: We normally cross check stories to seek multiple sources and differing points of view. We have been unable to do this with this post because of a complete absence of coverage by British media apart from the Guardian to whom we are grateful.

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Death penalty in Florida


Should Florida become known as the ‘Death State’ in place of the Sunshine State?

July 2026

Two more executions are scheduled for same day – July 28th – in Florida as Governor Ron DeSantis pursues his mania for the policy. DeSantis said he believes the death penalty could be a “strong deterrent” to crime. “My view is it’s an appropriate punishment for the worst offenders,” he said. The evidence does not support his statement. Indeed the Death Penalty Project concludes:

‘Overall, homicide rates have been declining since the early 1990s across all US states. And increasing rates of homicide have not followed in those states which have abolished the death penalty during the past two decades. In fact, over the last 20 years, homicide rates in US states which retained the death penalty have been higher than those without it.

‘One study found that between 1974 and 2009, 447 executions occurred in the state of Texas, 13 occurred in California and none occurred in New York, yet rates of homicide followed similar patterns of fluctuation throughout this period across all three states, clearly influenced by factors other than punishments.’

‘Aping the President‘

Florida executed more than ever before in 2025. The State accounts for 40% of all executions in the US, a shocking statistic. The increase in the national statistic is almost entirely due to this one state. One commentator reflects in a Tampa Free Press article that DeSantis is aping the President “it matters to the President [Trump] so it matters to them.” It has also been suggested that the execution spree is part of the Governor’s desire to become the president at the end of President Trump’s term of office.

One of those due to be executed at the end of the month is 80 years old, Dominick Anthony Occhicone and his attorneys say he is in their opinion, too old to be executed.

There are still 246 individuals on death row in the state.

If these executions proceed, Florida will carry out two executions in a single day — the first time this has happened in the modern era of Florida’s death penalty. That fact alone should stop us in our tracks.

Amnesty opposes the use of use of the penalty in all circumstances. It is not a deterrent. It perpetuates violence. Mistakes cannot be rectified (and there have been 30 exonerations in this state alone). The US is the only state in the Americas continuing to execute its citizens.

Another case

Another truly shocking case involves a man called Eddie Suggs who is on death row. Reading the astonishing story you learn that the evidence is so weak and flawed it’s a wonder that the case ever came to court. But he may lose his life. There is a petition to sign and we’d be grateful if you’d add your voice.

Sources: Death Penalty Information Center, Floridians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty, Florida Today, Tampa Free Press, AP News.

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