Actress Miriam Margoyles has joined over 600 prominent figures in signing an open letter urging the BBC to air the unreleased documentary Gaza: Medics Under Fire.
Amongst the signatories are Oscar-winner Susan Sarandon, comedian Frankie Boyle and Channel 4’s Lindsey Hilsum.
In a letter sent to BBC Director-General Tim Davie on Monday, the broadcaster is criticised for delaying the release of the documentary despite reported months of editorial scrutiny and fact-checking.
Produced by Basement Films, the documentary features testimonies from doctors working in Gaza.
Miriam Margoyles has joined over 600 prominent figures in signing an open letter urging the BBC to air the unreleased documentary Gaza: Medics Under Fire
GETTYIt was reportedly scheduled to air in February but was pulled following controversy surrounding another BBC documentary - How to Survive a Warzone.
That film is currently under investigation after it was revealed that its teenage narrator is the son of a Hamas official.
It was also revealed that a cameraman who worked on the programme wrote a series of social media posts celebrating the October 7 attacks.
The BBC was forced to apologise, saying there were “serious flaws” in the making of the film.
The broadcaster added: “BBC News takes full responsibility for these and the impact that these have had on the corporation's reputation. We apologise for this.”
However, today's open letter claims the decision to delay Gaza: Medics Under Fire is due to “political suppression”, adding: "Every day this film is delayed, the BBC fails in its commitment to inform the public, fails in its journalistic responsibility to report the truth, and fails in its duty of care to these brave contributors."
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The statement continued: “The BBC continues to demonstrate bias in its reporting and coverage of events in Gaza, raising continued concern and criticism about the balance and impartiality of its journalism in this region.”
“We stand with the medics of Gaza whose voices are being silenced. Their urgent stories are being buried by bureaucracy and political censorship.”
Other signatories of the letter include broadcaster India Willoughby, House of the Dragon star Olivia Cooke, comedian Jen Brister and filmmaker Ruhi Hamid. There are also 130 anonymous signatures, reportedly including over a dozen BBC staff members.
Hamid said that not airing the film sent the message that “some lives - especially Palestinian lives - are less worthy of compassion and coverage.”
She added: “As a documentary filmmaker, I know how much work, risk, and responsibility goes into telling the truth – especially in places like Gaza. When the BBC, a public service broadcaster, chooses to suppress a film that highlights the lifesaving work of doctors under siege, it doesn’t just fail the filmmakers. It fails the public.”
BBC's 'Gaza: How to Survive a Warzone' 'documentary' was narrated by the son of Hamas's deputy agriculture minister Ayman AlyazouriBBCA spokesman from Campaign Against Antisemitism - a charity dedicated to exposing and countering antisemitism in Britain - told GB News that the previous documentary was “a piece of long-form Hamas propaganda”.
They said: “The BBC is still investigating itself over its last Gaza documentary- which was essentially a piece of long-form Hamas propaganda that resulted in licence-fee money being sent to the family of a Hamas official.
“Our national broadcaster has yet to explain how it intends to ensure that its future coverage from Hamas-controlled areas is not controlled or influenced by that antisemitic banned terrorist organisation.
“Had the BBC showed some level of common sense and caution about footage provided from Hamas-controlled parts of Gaza the first time, it might have spared itself a serious embarrassment.”
