Kemi Badenoch has demanded to know if licence-fee cash was given to Hamas terrorists during the making of a controversial BBC documentary.
The Tory leader called for an investigation into any “potential collusion with Hamas” and “the possibility of payment” to terrorists in a letter to the corporation.
She threatened to pull her party’s support for the licence fee if there was not “serious action”, making clear that senior BBC executives should be part of any investigation.
Mrs Badenoch said apparent bias in the BBC’s reporting of the conflict was not an “isolated incident” and any review must root out the “systemic and institutional bias against Israel”.
The broadcaster apologised and removed Gaza: How to Survive a Warzone from its iPlayer service when it emerged the son of a Hamas minister featured prominently in the film.
Abdullah Al-Yazouri, the documentary’s 14-year-old narrator and central figure, is the son of Ayman Alyazouri, the deputy minister of agriculture in the Hamas-run Government. Viewers were not made aware of the connection.
The hour-long programme aired on February 17 at 9pm on BBC Two and was also available on BBC iPlayer. However, it is now “not currently available” when accessed on the demand service.
The BBC confirmed the documentary was removed while “further due diligence” is conducted by the corporation.
Mrs Badenoch said: “The BBC must recognise how serious these allegations are for its public standing.
“The BBC’s Middle East coverage is widely regarded as unreliable. The Conservative Party has supported the BBC in government, including through the current charter, which will end in 2027.
“I cannot see how my party could support the continuation of the current licence fee-based system without serious action by the BBC management to prove the organisation is committed to true impartiality.”
Meanwhile, senior MPs will grill BBC bosses on BBC bosses on a controversial documentary accused of offering a propaganda tool for Hamas.
Caroline Dinenage, the Tory chairwoman of the Commons Culture, media and Sport committee, said the issue will be raised when the broadcaster next appears before MPs.
She said: “It’s something that we will be raising when the BBC next appears in front of us, and it’s likely to come up when I meet with the committee on Tuesday.
“It is something that will be of huge concern. You just want to feel that the BBC is impartial and is doing their due diligence.”
It comes as Jewish protesters plan to stage a demonstration outside the BBC for “whitewashing terrorism with pro-Hamas propaganda”.
The Campaign Against Antisemitism [CAA] is set to besiege Broadcasting House, in London, accusing the national broadcaster of taking a pro-Palestinian stance in its coverage of the Israel-Hamas war.
Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy is set to meet BBC bosses, including director-general Tim Davie and chairman Samir Shah, in the wake of the outrage.
The BBC apologised for “omitting detail” about the narrator and his relationship with a Hamas leader. It said: “The film remains a powerful child’s eye view of the devastating consequences of the war in Gaza, which we believe is an invaluable testament to their experiences, and we must meet our commitment to transparency.”
It added: “There have been continuing questions raised about the programme and in the light of these, we are conducting further due diligence with the production company. The programme will not be available on iPlayer while this is taking place.”
