Over 400 media figures urge BBC to remove board member over alleged Gaza bias
London: More than 400 media professionals, including 111 current BBC journalists, have signed an open letter calling for the removal of BBC board member Sir Robbie Gibb, citing concerns about his alleged influence on the broadcaster’s coverage of Gaza.
Addressed to BBC Director-General Tim Davie and the BBC Board, the letter accuses Gibb, a former political advisor to ex-Prime Minister Theresa May, of compromising the BBC’s editorial independence due to his prior association with The Jewish Chronicle, a publication often criticised for its anti-Palestinian stance. Gibb served as a director at the paper until August 2024.
The signatories argue that Gibb’s position on the BBC Board and the Editorial Guidelines and Standards Committee is “untenable” given his role in the 2020 acquisition of The Jewish Chronicle. They allege his presence has contributed to a pattern of editorial decisions that marginalise Palestinian perspectives.
Central to the controversy is the BBC’s decision to shelve the documentary Gaza: Medics Under Fire, which Channel 4 later broadcast. The documentary includes accounts of detention, torture, and killings of medical workers in Gaza. The letter states, “We believe the refusal to broadcast the documentary Gaza: Medics Under Fire is just one in a long line of agenda-driven decisions.”
Among the signatories are public figures including actress Miriam Margolyes, filmmaker Mike Leigh, actor Charles Dance, and historian William Dalrymple. The letter alleges that the BBC has repeatedly failed to reflect the realities of the situation in Gaza and the West Bank, citing a “gulf between BBC’s coverage and what our audiences can see is happening via multiple credible sources, including human rights organisations, UN staff, and journalists on the ground.”
A January 2025 analysis by Declassified UK is also referenced in the letter. The analysis criticised the BBC’s limited coverage of UK-Israel military and political ties, including arms transfers using British airspace, visits by Israeli military officials, and lobbying in Westminster.
Former BBC presenter and footballer Gary Lineker also weighed in, saying the BBC “should hold its head in shame” for not airing the Gaza documentary.
In response, a BBC spokesperson defended the organisation’s editorial process, stating, “Robust discussions amongst our editorial teams about our journalism are an essential part of the editorial process.” The BBC pointed to recent programmes including Life and Death in Gaza and Gaza 101 as evidence of its commitment to balanced reporting.
The Centre for Media Monitoring (CfMM) had also criticised the BBC in a 180-page report last month. The study, titled BBC on Gaza-Israel: One Story, Double Standards, analysed over 3,800 articles and 32,000 broadcast segments, concluding that the BBC systematically downplayed Palestinian suffering while giving disproportionate coverage to Israeli perspectives.
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'Go back to your own country': Indian-origin taxi driver attacked in Dublin
London, Aug 5 (PTI): An Indian-origin taxi driver based in Ireland for over 23 years has become the latest to be targeted in an unprovoked attack in the capital Dublin, with local police (Gardai) launching an investigation into the violent assault.
Lakhvir Singh, in his 40s, told local media that he picked up two young men in their 20s on Friday night and dropped them at Poppintree, in the Ballymun suburb of Dublin.
Upon arriving at the destination, the men are said to have opened the vehicle door and struck him twice on the head with a bottle. As the suspects fled, they reportedly shouted: "Go back to your own country".
"In 10 years I've never seen anything like this happen," Singh told ‘Dublin Live’.
"I'm really scared now and I'm off the road at the moment. It will be very hard to go back. My children are really scared," he said.
A Dublin police spokesperson said Singh was taken to the city's Beaumont Hospital with injuries determined as not life-threatening.
"Gardaí are investigating an assault reported to have occurred in Poppintree, Ballymun, Dublin 11 at approximately 11:45 pm on Friday, 1st August 2025. A man, aged in his 40s, was brought to Beaumont Hospital for treatment of non-life-threatening injury. Investigations are ongoing," the spokesperson said.
The incident followed an Indian Embassy advisory, also issued on Friday, expressing safety concerns following recent attacks in and around the capital Dublin and urging Indian citizens to take safety precautions.
"There has been an increase in the instances of physical attacks reported against Indian citizens in Ireland recently,” states the advisory.
“The embassy is in touch with the authorities concerned in Ireland in this regard. At the same time, all Indian citizens in Ireland are advised to take reasonable precautions for their personal security and avoid deserted areas, especially at odd hours," the statement reads, adding emergency embassy contact details as 0899423734 and cons.dublin@mea.gov.in.
It came in the wake of a brutal attack on a 40-year-old Indian man at Parkhill Road in the Tallaght suburb of Dublin on July 19, described as “mindless, racist violence” by locals.
The Gardai had opened an investigation into the case and Indian Ambassador to Ireland Akhilesh Mishra was among those who took to social media to express shock over the attack.
“Regarding the recent incident of physical attack on an Indian national that happened in Tallaght, Dublin, the embassy is in touch with the victim and his family. All the requisite assistance is being offered. The embassy is also in touch with the relevant Irish authorities in this regard,” the embassy said in a social media post days after the incident.
A Stand Against Racism protest was also held by the local community in condemnation of what was described as a "vicious racist attack" and to express solidarity with migrants.
Last week, Dr Santosh Yadav took to LinkedIn to post details of a “brutal, unprovoked racist attack”.
The entrepreneur and AI expert stressed that it was not an isolated incident and called for “concrete measures” from the governments of Ireland and India to ensure Indians feel safe to walk the streets of Dublin.
His post revealed that a group of six teenagers attacked him from behind as he walked to his apartment in Dublin.
“This is not an isolated incident. Racist attacks on Indian men and other minorities are surging across Dublin — on buses, in housing estates, and on public streets. Yet, the government is silent. There is no action being taken against these perpetrators. They run free and are emboldened to attack again,” reads Yadav's post.
Fine Gael party Councillor for Tallaght South, Baby Pereppadan, was among those who expressed concern following last month’s attack.
“People need to understand that many Indian people moving to Ireland are here on work permits, to study and work in the healthcare sector or in IT and so on, providing critical skills,” he said.
Another violent anti-Indian attack in Ireland
— Journalist V (@OnTheNewsBeat) August 5, 2025
Taxi driver Lakhvir Singh was attacked with glass bottles while doing his job pic.twitter.com/mtkwhLWISx
