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Over 400 stars and media figures have signed a letter to BBC management for the removal of a board member over “opaque editorial decisions made at senior levels” regarding the Israel-Palestine conflict.
Miriam Margolyes, Alexei Sayle, Juliet Stevenson and Mike Leigh are among those who signed the letter on Wednesday, July 2, 2025, to BBC management calling for the removal of Robbie Gibb over claims of conflict of interest regarding the Middle East.
The signatories also include 111 BBC journalists and Zawe Ashton, Khalid Abdalla, Shola Mos-Shogbamimu and the historian William Dalrymple, who express “concerns over opaque editorial decisions and censorship at the BBC on the reporting of Israel/Palestine.”
Referring to the documentary, Gaza: Doctors Under Attack, which the BBC commissioned first but then shelved as it said it “risked creating a perception of partiality,” the letter said the decision to drop the film “demonstrates, once again, that the BBC is not reporting ‘without fear or favour’ when it comes to Israel.”
The documentary, which was aired on Channel 4 Wednesday night, narrates how health systems in the Gaza Strip have been overwhelmed, bombed, and raided amid ongoing Israeli assaults.
According to The Guardian, the letter also accuses the BBC of being “crippled by the fear of being perceived as critical of the Israeli government” and claims the “inconsistent manner in which guidance is applied draws into focus the role of Gibb on the BBC Board and BBC’s editorial standards committee.”
“For many of us, our efforts have been frustrated by opaque decisions made at senior levels of the BBC without discussion or explanation. Our failures impact audiences,” the letter read.
Gibb, who is ex-PM Theresa May’s former spin doctor and a former head of the BBC’s Westminster political team, led the consortium that bought the Jewish Chronicle in 2020 and, up until August 2024, was a director of Jewish Chronicle Media.
The 111 BBC journalists signed anonymously, owing to their fear of repercussions.
More than 57,000 Palestinians have been killed in the Israeli attack on Gaza since October 2023.
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