Nick Robinson has become the latest BBC presenter to weigh into the row over the corporation’s refusal to call Hamas “terrorists”.
The licence fee-funded broadcaster has faced criticism for not using the term in the wake of brutal attacks on Israel launched last weekend which have killed more than 1,000 people.
But Robinson, who presents Radio 4’s flagship Today programme, defended the BBC’s editorial position.
He said: “No one watching the reporting of my BBC colleagues in Israel can have any doubt of the horror of what has happened.
“I understand entirely why some want the word ‘terrorism’ used.
“It is, though, the long-standing practice of BBC, ITV and Sky to report others using that language rather than using it ourselves.
“We have brave colleagues reporting from Israel and Gaza and, indeed, many other war zones around the world who come under huge pressure to use labels to describe the ‘enemy’ and whose safety depends on them being seen to be impartial.
“Whatever your view I hope you recognise that it is thanks to the reporting of my colleagues that so many know the full horror of the mass murders that have been carried out.
“The stories of the victims and those left behind are being told fully and bravely every day on BBC News.”
Conservative politicians including Defence Secretary Grant Shapps and Foreign Secretary James Cleverly have led criticism of the BBC for failing to brand Hamas as “terrorists”.
Robinson was responding to senior BBC foreign and world affairs correspondent John Simpson who yesterday defended the corporation as he cited impartiality rules.
He said: “British politicians know perfectly well why the BBC avoids the word ‘terrorist’, and over the years plenty of them have privately agreed with it.
“Calling someone a terrorist means you’re taking sides and ceasing to treat the situation with due impartiality.
“The BBC’s job is to place the facts before its audience and let them decide what they think, honestly and without ranting.”
Ex-BBC journalist Jon Sopel hit out at the broadcaster, claiming editorial guidelines are “no longer fit for purpose, and sadly have the effect of sanitising”.
The BBC’s guidance on terrorism tell reporters and editors: “The word ‘terrorist’ itself can be a barrier rather than an aid to understanding.
“We should convey to our audience the full consequences of the act by describing what happened.
“We should use words which specifically describe the perpetrator such as ‘bomber’, ‘attacker’, ‘gunman’, ‘kidnapper’, ‘insurgent’ and ‘militant’.
“We should not adopt other people’s language as our own; our responsibility is to remain objective and report in ways that enable our audiences to make their own assessments about who is doing what to whom.”
A BBC spokesperson said: “We always take our use of language very seriously. Anyone watching or listening to our coverage will hear the word ‘terrorist’ used many times – we attribute it to those who are using it, for example, the UK Government.
“This is an approach that has been used for decades, and is in line with that of other broadcasters. The BBC is an editorially independent broadcaster whose job is to explain precisely what is happening ‘on the ground’ so our audiences can make their own judgment.”
