London, November 11, 2025 – The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is grappling with a deepening internal scandal as more than 200 Jewish employees, contractors, suppliers, and contributors have accused its board of directors of systematically ignoring pleas for a formal investigation into anti-Semitism and institutional bias within the organization. In a scathing second letter sent to BBC Board members on Friday, November 7, the group lambasted the corporation for offering "words not action" after over 16 months of inaction, escalating a controversy that has simmered since the onset of the Israel-Hamas war in October 2023.
The renewed outcry stems from an initial open letter dispatched to BBC Chairman Samir Shah on July 19, 2024, where the signatories—spanning current and former staff from high-profile roles in television and film—demanded an "urgent formal investigation by the BBC Board into systemic problems of anti-Semitism and bias at the BBC, alongside senior management's demonstrable failure to properly address the issue." Attached to that correspondence was a comprehensive 30-page report titled Being Jewish and Working at the BBC, compiling anonymous testimonies from Jewish staff who described the broadcaster as "no longer a safe space to be Jewish." The document detailed instances of workplace prejudice, including daily exposure to anti-Semitic remarks, feelings of isolation from management, and a pervasive mental health toll exacerbated by biased coverage of the Gaza conflict.
Prominent signatories to both letters include Leo Pearlman, a producer whose company Fulwell 73 has created acclaimed BBC programs like Sunderland 'Til I Die; Claudia Rosencrantz, former head of entertainment at ITV; and Danny Cohen, ex-director of BBC Television who has since become a vocal critic of the corporation's editorial lapses. In the latest missive, the group asserted: "Despite being presented with documentary evidence of an anti-Jewish bias within the BBC, among BBC news and current affairs specifically, this basic request went unheeded. We are still a minority with a simple entreaty to the BBC Board: the BBC's repeatedly substantiated anti-Jewish racism has now been 'Called Out' – who will be held accountable?"
A representative for the signatories, speaking anonymously to the Daily Mail, elaborated on the frustration: "We drew all this to the BBC's attention over a year ago and since then we continue as Jews to be ignored, gaslit and at worst smeared as a 'lobby'. We have been told that the BBC was committed to impartiality and fairness and yet this is demonstrably not the case. The BBC needs to live up to its values. This would never happen to any other minority. It is racism. The BBC has failed to deal with this fundamental problem from the very top. We are calling for real action and accountability, not more hollow words." This sentiment echoes broader whistleblower accounts, including an anonymous BBC insider who told The Telegraph that anti-Semitism in newsrooms "has persisted for years and remains prevalent today, exacerbated by events since October 7," with complaints routinely dismissed by superiors.
The BBC's initial response to the July 2024 letter was widely perceived as inadequate. Chairman Shah acknowledged "mistakes" and expressed "great concern" over colleagues' feelings but directed the group to the corporation's "formal routes for making complaints," without committing to a board-led probe. A BBC spokesperson reiterated the organization's stance against "any form of abuse, prejudice or intolerance" and highlighted "well-established and robust processes" for handling concerns, including staff networks like BBC Embrace for Jewish and Muslim employees. However, critics, including signatory Pearlman, labeled Shah's reply "dismissive," arguing it exemplified a "monumental double standard" in how the BBC addresses racism—contrasting it with swift actions in scandals like those involving Huw Edwards or Strictly Come Dancing.
This latest escalation follows a leaked internal report by Michael Prescott, a former independent adviser to the BBC's Editorial Guidelines and Standards Committee who departed in June 2025. Titled a "memo to the BBC’s Board," the 19-page document, obtained by The Telegraph, accuses the broadcaster of "deep and pervasive bias" in its Gaza coverage, particularly at BBC Arabic, where it allegedly "pushed Hamas lies" and "minimized Israeli suffering" to portray Israel as the aggressor. Prescott cited stark disparities: over five months to October 2024, the English-language BBC website ran 19 stories on Israeli hostages, while BBC Arabic had none; it featured a 582-word Hamas statement disputing a Yazidi woman's escape from Gaza captivity, overshadowing her verified testimony backed by U.S. and Iraqi authorities.
Further, Prescott highlighted the platforming of anti-Semitic figures on BBC Arabic, such as contributor Samer Elzaenen, who called for Jews to be "burnt as Hitler did" and appeared 244 times from November 2023 to April 2025, and Ahmad Alagha, who labeled Jews "devils," featured 522 times. The report also criticized over-reliance on unverified Hamas health ministry death tolls—later revised downward by the UN—and delayed corrections, such as a months-long misrepresentation of an International Court of Justice ruling on Gaza as evidence of "genocide," despite clarification from the court's ex-president. Prescott concluded that these were not isolated errors but "systemic problems," with management failing to act despite internal reviews.
The scandal has drawn sharp political rebuke. Kemi Badenoch, Leader of the Opposition and head of the Conservative Party, condemned the BBC's inaction as "indefensible," stating to the Daily Mail: "It is indefensible that the BBC ignored complaints of anti-Semitism and bias from more than 200 of its own staff and contributors for nearly 18 months. This is a shameful failure of leadership. These were not isolated errors. They were repeated editorial failures under the supervision of [BBC News CEO] Deborah Turness." Badenoch, who has previously demanded "wholesale reform" of BBC Arabic over "appalling antisemitism and anti-Israel bias," accused the broadcaster of providing "cover for extremists" and smearing Israel with "falsehoods." She urged the Board to "intervene to restore trust and ensure that accountability begins where the failures occurred – in BBC news itself," specifically implicating Turness in lapses like a Panorama documentary accused of "fake news" on Donald Trump and uncritical airing of Hamas propaganda. Badenoch's comments align with earlier calls from figures like former Attorney General Sir Michael Ellis, who labeled the BBC "institutionally anti-Semitic" during a parliamentary debate.
The Jewish community has echoed these demands for accountability. The Board of Deputies of British Jews welcomed recent high-level resignations—including Director-General Tim Davie and News CEO Deborah Turness on November 9, 2025, amid the bias row—but insisted they must be "the first step of many" toward renewal. Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis has linked biased reporting to rising hostility against British Jews, noting a surge in incidents since October 7, 2023. Media watchdogs like CAMERA and HonestReporting have documented over 80 corrections to BBC Gaza stories by May 2024, arguing the pattern erodes public trust and fuels global anti-Semitism.
As of November 11, the BBC has not publicly responded to the second letter, though Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy stated the allegations are being treated with "the seriousness that this demands." With taxpayer funding at stake—via the TV licence fee—the crisis threatens the BBC's charter renewal in 2027. Protests outside Broadcasting House have intensified, with demonstrators waving placards reading "Rape is NOT resistance" and decrying the broadcaster's role in "undermining accuracy." Jewish staff, meanwhile, continue to navigate a workplace they describe as hostile, where impartiality pledges ring hollow amid unchecked bias.
This unfolding saga underscores broader challenges for public service media in polarized times. As one signatory told The Jewish Chronicle: "The hardest thing is seeing how BBC stories are adding to anti-Semitism—you can see it in the social media responses. And there is nothing we can do about it." For the BBC, restoring credibility may require more than internal reviews; it demands transparent reform to reaffirm its mandate as a beacon of unbiased journalism.
