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The chair of the BBC has turned down a request from a group of 200 Jewish staffers, contributors and suppliers to launch a formal investigation into “systemic problems of antisemitism and bias” within the corporation.
Led by 9/11: Inside the President’s War Room EP Neil Grant, the group sent a letter to BBC Board members and Chair Samir Shah on July 19 describing their “anguish and disbelief because we fear we have now exhausted the process of raising our very serious concerns about anti-Jewish racism with BBC Management.”
The group also sent the board members what they describe as a non-exhaustive list of social media breaches and “impartiality breaches in matters of public controversy relating to Israel and Gaza,” broadcast mistakes that “suggest bias,” and an account from anonymous sources “of the fear and mental health toll on Jewish BBC staff, their feelings of isolation and alienation from their bosses and experiences of prejudice and racism at work.”
Deadline is told that the group shared the correspondence with Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy’s office, with the hope that Nandy would raise the issue during her meeting with Director General Tim Davie today, which was ostensibly organized to discuss the Huw Edwards scandal.
Responding to the correspondence, Shah said the board “holds the [BBC] Executive to account through the assurances we seek and the questions we ask of the decision-making process,” but declined to launch a formal investigation.
The group of more than 200 Jewish staffers, contributors and suppliers, who previously combined to protest the refusal to dismiss cricket commentator Qasim Sheikh, is made up of the likes of Grant, former BBC TV chief Danny Cohen and Who Wants to be a Millionaire? creative Claudia Rosencrantz.
The group’s letter told Shah that the correspondence they have received recently from BBC Sport boss Philip Bernie and content chief Charlotte Moore “should be a matter of shame for the BBC.”
“Unless its professed opposition to racism is untrue, BBC Management seems to think it is better placed than Jews themselves to identify and define what does and doesn’t constitute anti-Jewish racism,” it added. “And it is repeatedly failing to take any meaningful action.”
Shah’s response said “it is of great concern to me if some colleagues feel the way you describe in your documents” and revealed he has asked the BBC executive to review the papers the group sent to “see if there’s anything included that has not been previously considered.”
He acknowledged “mistakes and we have not always got it right” while accepting “on a small number of occasions, staff conduct has fallen below expectations.”
There have been high-profile instances since October 7 such as Sheikh’s posts, Dawn Queva, the scheduler who left after peddling extreme conspiracy theories on Facebook, and Apprentice contestant Dr Asif Munaf, whose scenes were cut from You’re Fired due to social media posts. The BBC has, during the period these high-profile instances have taken place, launched a Jewish staff network with content boss Moore acting as executive sponsor, while Davie has sent all-staff emails in a bid to signpost support.
A Deadline deep dive from June unearthed much turmoil within the halls of New Broadcasting House on both sides of the Israel-Gaza conflict, including a BBC employee entangled in a dispute with their manager over antisemitism allegations.
The furore comes at a difficult time for the BBC, reeling this week from the Edwards guilty plea and the tricky questions being asked about why the corporation continued paying the newsreader long after it discovered he had been arrested over making indecent images of children. It is also recovering from the Strictly Come Dancing scandal, which has seen the exit of two prominent dancers from the show over misconduct allegations.
A BBC spokeswoman said: “The BBC Chairman has responded to this letter directly. It is a great concern to us if anyone does not feel supported at work and we have well-established and robust processes in place to handle any concerns or complaints raised with us confidentially. We have highlighted these to the signatories of the letter. As an organisation, we stand united against any form of abuse, prejudice or intolerance.”
She added: “Editorially, we are committed to the highest standards of impartiality in our journalism and in a small number of cases where there have been mistakes we have acknowledged this. Where staff conduct has fallen below expectations we have taken action.”
