Grant Shapps slams BBC for not calling Hamas ‘terrorists’
The BBC is facing a growing storm over its refusal to describe Hamas as terrorists with MPs from across the political divide uniting to condemn the decision.
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer this morning called on the corporation to explain why it does not use the term amid the horror attacks on Israel.
Meanwhile, Defence Secretary Grant Shapps blasted the approach as “verging on disgraceful”.
Sir Keir told LBC this morning: “I think the BBC needs to explain why it isn’t.
“I said ‘terrorism’ and ‘terrorist’, and to me that’s obviously what we are witnessing.
“I think other channels may not be either, but I’m not across all the detail of that.”
Mr Shapps added that it is time for the BBC to get the “moral compass out”.
He said: “I actually think it is verging on disgraceful, this idea that there is some sort of equivalence, and they’ll always say well there are two sides… what Hamas have done, as a proscribed terrorist organisation, meaning that they are illegal in Britain, it’s illegal to support them, is to have gone out and slaughtered innocent people, babies, festival goers, pensioners.
“They are not freedom fighters, they are not militants, they are pure and simple terrorists and it’s remarkable to go to the BBC website and still see them talking about gunmen and militants and not calling them terrorists.
“I don’t know what’s going on there, but I think that it’s time to get the moral compass out at the BBC.”
The pair are the latest politicians to weigh in on the row over the BBC not referring to Hamas as terrorists.
The corporation’s editorial guidelines have a specific section on Israel and Palestine.
It states that: “Terrorism is a difficult and emotive subject with significant political overtones and care is required in the use of language that carries value judgments.”
Staff are told not to use the term “terrorist” without attribution, and should instead use words such as “bomber”, “attacker”, “gunman”, “kidnapper”, “insurgent” and “militant”.
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