TV watchdog says Gaza documentary broke rules

A current affairs programme presented by Lauren Booth, Cherie Booth's sister, has been criticised by the broadcasting watchdog for breaching impartiality rules.
By The Newsroom
Published 3rd Aug 2010, 12:25 BST
Updated 3rd Aug 2010, 12:25 BST

Booth, 43, fronted a programme on Press TV, the Iranian international news network, about the events during and after the May interception by Israeli military forces of a pro-Palestinian aid convoy, which resulted in nine deaths.

The programme, broadcast in June, started with a pro-Palestinian song set to anti-Israeli/pro-Palestinian imagery.

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Comments made by Booth, who is Cherie Blair's half-sister, included: "Israeli commandoes ... committed a massacre of innocent civilians sailing aid ships to the besieged Gaza Strip" and "this was obviously a barbarous attack on civilians".

The broadcaster said it had complied with impartiality requirements and that the "intensity of the descriptions in the programme merely reflected the general atmosphere around the world".

But Ofcom ruled that "the programme did not contain any alternative views". It said: "Presenters or interviewers must ensure they are articulating alternative views in a duly objective manner or putting them to interviewees in a manner that achieves due impartiality."

Related topics:GazaOfcom