The BBC has been accused of “gaslighting” a group of more than 200 of its Jewish staff, contributors and suppliers over the handling of detailed complaints about antisemitism at the corporation.
The group’s complaints included a letter to the BBC chair, Samir Shah, calling for an investigation into what it warned could amount to a “serious institutional racism problem”.
The correspondence, first reported by Deadline and published by Variety, cited social media posts on the Israel-Gaza conflict, including those by the Match of the Day presenter Gary Lineker, the Apprentice contestant Asif Munaf and others by BBC Arabic staff.
Other correspondence included a 30-page dossier of anonymous complaints from staff about their experiences of antisemitism at the BBC.
In a reply sent last week, Shah expressed “great concern” about the allegations and referred the letter writers to the BBC’s formal routes for making complaints.
He added: “I am satisfied that where we have made errors, the executive have acted appropriately and handled matters in accordance to the guidelines as they apply to my colleagues.”
The response has been met by anger from some of the signatories. Leo Pearlman, who runs the production company Fulwell 73, accused the BBC of treating Jews with “disdain”.
Speaking to the Jewish Chronicle, he said: “The response: nothing to see here, not even worthy of an investigation, is gaslighting by every definition.”
The former Panorama producer Neil Grant, told the paper: “When we present compelling evidence of the BBC’s institutionalised antisemitism signed by over 200 colleagues, we expect to be listened to and not gaslit, especially by the BBC board, who won’t even formally discuss our concerns.”
The row heaps more pressure on the BBC, which is already under fire over accusations of abuse on Strictly Come Dancing, and the management’s failure to sack the news presenter Huw Edwards after his arrest over indecent images.
A spokesperson for the BBC said: “It is a great concern to us if anyone does not feel supported at work and we have well-established and robust processes in place to handle any concerns or complaints raised with us confidentially.
“We have highlighted these to the signatories of the letter. As an organisation, we stand united against any form of abuse, prejudice or intolerance.”
They said action had been taken when impartiality standards had been breached.
Lineker deleted a post he had retweeted by the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel. A source said he had misread the original post.
Munaf was dropped from the Apprentice spin-off show, The Apprentice: You’re Fired, after he was accused of posting antisemitic comments.
