UK Met police scrutinized for blocking pro-Palestine march outside BBC
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The organizers have accused the Met of misusing their powers to prevent the pre-agreed-upon march.
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Pro-Palestinian protesters take part in a demonstration on Al Quds Day, in London, Friday, April 5, 2024. (AP)
London's Metropolitan Police came under scrutiny for blocking a pro-Palestine rally scheduled for January 18 in front of the BBC headquarters.
Six pro-Palestine groups, which typically organize the national Palestine marches, backed by over 150 high-profile individuals and organizations such as Amnesty International UK, Liberty, and Greenpeace, strongly denounced the Metropolitan's move.
In a joint statement issued on Friday, the collective accused the agency of exploiting public order advantages to shield the BBC from public dissent for its misconduct and false news regarding the ongoing Israeli war on Gaza.
Protest organizers criticized the BBC for failing to adequately represent Palestinian suffering, accusing the broadcaster of pro-Israeli bias. They also consider their marches as a way to hold the BBC accountable.
Organizers claim that despite pre-agreeing to the protest route with police over two months ago, the Metropolitan Police now aims to block the demonstration, a move they deem an abuse of public order powers to shield the BBC from scrutiny.
The statement, signed by prominent figures, including parliamentarians from Labour, Green, Plaid Cymru, Sinn Féin, SNP, and cultural icons like Jeremy Corbyn, Diane Abbott, and musician Brian Eno, condemned efforts to misrepresent pro-Palestinian protests as anti-Semitic, describing such links as "false and dangerous."
It is worth noting that a recent investigation by MintPress News found that Raffi Berg, the chief of BBC's Middle East desk, was a former employee at the CIA's Foreign Broadcast Information Service (FBIS), a department responsible for gathering intelligence for the agency, and has extensive ties with the Israeli intelligence service, Mossad.
Berg reportedly wrote a book titled "Red Sea Spies: The True Story of Mossad’s Fake Diving Resort", which required collaboration with Mossad operatives and was praised by Benjamin Netanyahu himself. He was also pictured with a Mossad commander, as well as Mark Regev, the former spokesperson for Benjamin Netanyahu's office.
BBC faces accusations of 'Israel' bias over Gaza from over 100 staff
In November, more than 100 BBC employees accused the British broadcaster of exhibiting a clear bias toward "Israel" while covering the entity's ongoing year-long war against Palestinians in Gaza.
In a letter addressed to BBC Director-General Tim Davie and signed by over 230 members of the media industry, including 101 anonymous BBC staff, the signatories urged the broadcaster to "recommit to fairness, accuracy, and impartiality" in its reporting on Israeli actions in Gaza.
The letter criticized the BBC for not meeting its editorial standards, citing a lack of "consistently fair and accurate evidence-based journalism" in its coverage of the situation, as reported by The Independent, which obtained the letter.
Among the signatories are British politician Sayeeda Warsi and actress Juliet Stevenson. They called on the BBC to report “without fear or favor” and to “recommit to the highest editorial standards—with emphasis on fairness, accuracy, and due impartiality.”
The letter called for the BBC to adopt several editorial commitments, such as "reiterating that Israel does not grant external journalists access to Gaza; clarifying when there is insufficient evidence to support Israeli claims; ensuring headlines indicate where Israel is the perpetrator; including regular historical context prior to October 2023; and rigorously challenging Israeli government and military representatives in all interviews."
