A Midland MP has launched a scathing attack on the BBC claiming it has been biased in the reporting of the violence in the Middle East.
Lichfield’s Conservative MP, Michael Fabricant, is in India and says he is “horrified” by the current reporting by the BBC World Service.
The Corporation says it will look into any complaint that is made by the MP but added that it was confident that the reporting had been “balanced, fair, accurate and impartial.”
Mr Fabricant said: “I have lost confidence in the BBC World Service in their ability to present news in an unbiased manner. And I will be making a formal complaint to the Chairman of the BBC Trust.
“Perhaps I am one of the few remaining MPs who has consistently defended the BBC for their standards of journalism and impartiality.
“Being abroad for me always involves me taking a short wave radio in my back-pack. I am in India and I have been listening for several hours each day.
“I have been horrified and angered by the coverage of the Israel-Gaza conflict.
“While paying scant regard to the provocation from Gaza over the last seven years, the BBC has chosen to broadcast ‘human interest’ stories reminiscent of salacious photos in the cheaper red top newspapers.
“Perhaps the worst interview of all was with the Foreign Minister of the Czech Republic who dared to suggest that every country has a right to defend its citizens, that Hamas had walked away from negotiations, that they had resumed firing rockets into Israel, and that Israel’s actions are therefore defensive and not offensive.
“The ire and vitriol of the BBC interviewer was extraordinary. Paxman and Humphreys are pussy cats in comparison. The Czech minister sounded shell-shocked. And so was I.”
A spokesman for the BBC said: “Clearly this is a conflict that some people hold passionate views about, which they are willing to express in strong terms.
“However, we are satisfied that the BBC’s coverage of the on-going events in Gaza and Israel is balanced, fair, accurate and impartial.
“In our reports, we have tried to explain how the current situation started and has since developed.”
