BBC accused of ‘shocking bias’ after Nick Robinson said Israel ‘murdered tens of thousands of innocent Palestinians’

THE BBC has been accused of “shocking bias” after one of its top presenters said Israel “murdered” tens of thousands of “innocent” Palestinians.

Senior Tory Theresa Villiers urged the Beeb to immediately launch an investigation into the “anti-Israel statement”.

The comments were made by presenter Nick Robinson during an interview on the Today programme with Foreign Secretary Lord Cameron after Iran’s unprecedented assault on Israel.

Mr Robinson said he wanted to end his grilling with a “question of morality”, adding: “Isn’t the real risk of where we are now that Western governments appear to back Israel the moment that Israel is under attack, but when Israel attacks and murders tens of thousands of innocent Palestinians, we say the words but we do almost nothing?”

The former PM said he did not agree “at all” with his statement and that people can see that “the truly malign actor in the region is Iran”.

Former Cabinet Minister Ms Villiers said she could not believe Mr Robinson had chosen those words.

She told The Sun: “Even by the BBC’s standards this is shocking bias.

“ I can’t believe that this kind of question is asked on one of the nation’s most influential and highly regarded news programmes. Israel does not target civilians.

“The country is defending itself from a brutal terror attack and making strenuous efforts not to harm civilians.

“The BBC should launch an immediate investigation into this latest example of an anti-Israel statement by one of its presenters.”

Tory MP Greg Smith also said: “Outrageous bias from the BBC.

“Israel is the nation being attacked – the actual victims – seeking to defend themselves from further attacks by terrorists who have the stated aim of destroying Israel and killing Jews.”

Associate fellow at the Bright Blue think tank Bella Wallersteiner hit out on X: “On BBC Radio 4 presenter says Israel has ‘murdered tens of thousands of innocent Palestinians’.

“This is poisonous language from our national broadcaster and totally irresponsible in the current atmosphere.

“The final straw for me. Cancelling my licence fee.”

Mr Robinson later wrote on social media he should have been “clearer” that he was not expressing “my own view let alone that of the BBC when I used the words ‘murders'”.

He added: “In this 15 minute long interview I asked the Foreign Secretary why ministers had supported Israel militarily; why they didn’t go further and support Israel in confronting Iran; why they weren’t tougher in confronting Israel over Gaza and ended with that question about the perceived ‘morality’ and the ‘risk’ of how the Government’s position ‘appears’.

“It was a lengthy and detailed exploration of the policy choices made by the Government.”

The Prime Minister’s spokesman said he would have not used the word “murder”, adding: “Israel is an ally of the UK, it’s a victim of a brutal terror attack and clearly has a right to defend itself.

“We should all be careful with our words at this time. Particularly given heightened community tensions.”

The Israeli offensive in Gaza, sparked by Hamas’s October 7 attack that claimed the lives of 1,200 people, has caused widespread devastation in the Gaza Strip.

The Hamas-run health ministry says more than 33,000 Palestinians have been killed since the war began.

But it’s not clear how many are civilians as the data does not distinguish between combatants and ordinary citizens.

Meanwhile, about 130 people remain unaccounted for after being kidnapped by Hamas last year – at least 34 of them are presumed dead.

Israel says it has killed more than 13,000 Hamas fighters and blames the terrorists for harm to civilians for operating among them, including from a network of underground bunkers and tunnels.

Hamas denies its fighters operate among civilians.

Lord Cameron called for a pivot in focus to the release of the hostages this morning.

He said his hope was that there won’t a retaliatory response from Israel and “the world’s focus should shift to Hamas”.

The Foreign Secretary told Times Radio: “They still hold those hostages. They’ve been offered a deal that prisoners can be released from Israeli jails in return for some of those hostages and there’ll be a pause in the fighting. That’s what needs to happen next and that’s what I hope we can focus on.”

He also placed the blame for the ongoing Gaza war with the Hamas terrorists, saying the militant group had rejected Israel’s offer.

Lord Cameron went on: “Anyone in any doubt who is responsible for keeping this conflict going, it’s not Israel, it is Hamas, and the focus should be on them.”