LONDON: A UK employment tribunal has heard claims that BBC imposed editorial restrictions on its journalists and misled the public during coverage of Israel’s assault on Gaza in October 2023, according to media reports, including initial findings by Middle East Monitor and subsequent reporting by Dawn.com.
The case, brought by five former BBC Arabic journalists Amer Sultan, Ahmed Rouaba, Dima Odeh, Nahed Najar and Mohamed El Ashiry, alleges discrimination and unfair dismissal linked to what they describe as racist and discriminatory practices within BBC Arabic.
Sultan, an Egyptian journalist who spent 17 years at the corporation, told the tribunal he was dismissed after repeatedly raising concerns over “serious breaches” of BBC editorial guidelines during the early weeks of the conflict.
He said senior managers later held internal “listening sessions” where BBC World Service director Liliane Landor reportedly told staff, “We misled the audience”, and promised an internal investigation.
Five journalists who worked at broadcaster’s Arabic service claim discrimination, unfair dismissals due to ‘racist’ practices
Sultan said he was never informed of any findings before leaving the BBC in October 2024. Landor resigned about six months later.
In one instance, he claimed, editors told BBC Arabic journalists there were “legal and editorial restrictions” on their work in Israel, preventing coverage of an incident in which Israeli police allegedly assaulted a BBC crew.
The BBC’s legal representative did not dispute key elements of Sultan’s account, the tribunal heard, but argued that his complaints did not amount to protected whistleblowing because they did not involve a breach of the corporation’s legal obligations.
Sultan countered that misleading the public was a “clear violation” of those obligations for a broadcaster funded by UK taxpayers and went to the heart of “the public interest”. He urged BBC management to release the records of the listening sessions so that the court — and the wider public — can see what was discussed.
Oppression, censorship
Many journalists have lost jobs or faced restrictions, oppression and other forms of censorship while covering the Israel-Palestine conflict in recent years.
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) reported that Israel was responsible for the killing of at least two-thirds of all journalist and media workers in 2025, driving the total number killed worldwide last year to a record 129 — the highest-ever number documented by the CPJ since the organisation started keeping records more than three decades ago.
But the issue is not new when it comes to the coverage of Palestine as many journalists faced smear campaigns and termination of services even before October 2023.
US journalist Emily Wilder was sacked by the AP news agency, according to Al Jazeera, after right-wing ‘smear campaign’ over her past Palestine activism in 2021.
Last year, a journalist won her case against Australia’s national broadcaster, with a court ruling she was unfairly sacked over a social media post about the war in Gaza, according to a BBC report.
Antoinette Lattouf said the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) cut short her stint as a fill-in radio presenter in December 2023 due to her political views, her race and after lobbying from pro-Israel groups.
Hours before her sacking, Lattouf shared a post from Human Rights Watch (HRW) that accused Israel of war crimes, which Israel denies.
The ABC argued her post breached its editorial policy, but after the ruling apologised to Lattouf, saying that it had “let down our staff and audiences” in its handling of the matter.
Justice Darryl Rangiah found that the ABC sacked Lattouf for reasons including her opinions on the Israeli military campaign in Gaza. He rejected allegations the presenter, who is of Lebanese heritage, was fired because of her race.
She was awarded damages of A$70,000 (£33,400, $45,400), but Justice Rangiah said he would hear arguments from both sides on further penalties.
Speaking outside court, Lattouf said she was “punished for my political opinion”.
Her dismissal triggered a wave of public outrage and created turmoil at the public broadcaster — raising questions over its independence and reviving concerns over how it supports staff, particularly those who are culturally diverse.
Lattouf had been a regular contributor in Australian media for years, but also made a name for herself as an activist on issues like racism, discrimination in media and mental health.
The ABC disputed that she was fired, because they had paid her contract in full, and said she had been removed from her duties not as punishment, but to protect the broadcaster’s reputation.
