The BBC is operationally independent, and decisions around its editorial guidelines are therefore a matter for the organisation and not the Government. However, I do share the concerns of many over the BBC coverage.

I have joined Conservative colleagues in writing to the BBC Director General calling for a rethink of its coverage on Israel.

In addition, the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport has also spoken with the Director General of the BBC to raise this issue directly with him. The Secretary of State made it extremely clear that the actions of Hamas are acts of terror carried out by a terrorist organisation.

Hamas has been proscribed by the UK since 2021. In light of this, I understand that the Secretary of State asked the Director General whether the BBC was considering if it was now appropriate to review their guidelines and, if not, whether the BBC was confident it was abiding by its own News Style Guide which specifically states that “an action or event can be described as a terror attack or an act of terror”.