British Foreign Secretary David Cameron gave an interview to the BBC in which he urged the British corporation to describe Hamas as a terrorist organization.
Cameron told the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg that the organization should reconsider its guidelines in light of a video released by Hamas over the weekend showing British-Israeli hostage Nadav Popplewell.
Hamas claimed the 51-year-old had died after being wounded in an Israeli air strike a month ago.
Cameron said during the BBC interview, “Like everyone else, I watched the video on Twitter, X, last night, put out by Hamas of Nadav answering a question as to who he was. And I watched that video and you just think, what callous people they are to do that, to play with the family’s emotions in that way.”
He said he had met Popplewell’s family and knew what “heartbreak they’ve been going through for over 200 days”, adding, “And when you see what Hamas are prepared to do, you just realize the terrible, dreadful, inhuman people, frankly, that we are dealing with.”
“Maybe it’s a moment actually for the BBC to ask itself again, shall we describe these people as terrorists? They are terrorists,” said Cameron.
The BBC has long come under fire for its refusal to refer to Hamas as “terrorists”. In October, weeks after Hamas’ October 7 attack on Israel, BBC CEO Deborah Turness published a personal column defending the organization from the criticism and claiming it is the "most impartial UK news source."
A BBC spokesperson said following Cameron’s comments, “No one consuming BBC News can be left unaware of the horrific nature of Hamas’ acts. We’ve made our longstanding position on this matter very clear. We use the word ‘terrorist’ when it is attributed to others, such as the UK government.”
The corporation has also been criticized for the blatant anti-Israel bias in its reporting.
In November, the corporation published an apology after falsely claiming that IDF troops were targeting medical teams in battles in and around the Shifa Hospital in Gaza.
Before that, the BBC falsely accused Israel of being responsible for an explosion at a hospital in Gaza, which the IDF proved was caused by an Islamic Jihad rocket.
The network later acknowledged that “it was false to speculate” on the explosion.
In wake of the criticism, BBC Chair Samir Shah said in December that he intends to review the corporation’s reporting guidelines on the Israel–Hamas war.