Ex-British PM Tells BBC News Anchor That The Network Should Call Hamas ‘Terrorists’
Former British Prime Minister David Cameron strongly suggested to a BBC news anchor on Sunday that the network should call Hamas “terrorists.” (Watch the video below.)
Cameron, now the foreign secretary, ripped the public broadcaster for avoiding the terminology after the death of British-Israeli hostage Nadav Popplewell, who was kidnapped in the Hamas raid of Israel on Oct. 7 that began the war.
Hamas on Saturday released an undated video of Popplewell, who had a black eye, identifying himself before a large question mark appeared onscreen. Hamas later issued a statement claiming he had died from injuries in an Israeli airstrike on Gaza.
“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,” Cameron told the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg. “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.”
Cameron, who served as prime minister from 2010 to 2016, exhorted the BBC to reconsider how it refers to Hamas.
“When you see what Hamas are prepared to do, you just realize, the terrible, dreadful, inhuman people, frankly, that we are dealing with,” he said. “And maybe it’s a moment, actually, for the BBC to ask itself again, should we describe these people as terrorists? They are terrorists. If you kidnap grandmothers, you kidnap babies, you rape people, you shoot children in front of their parents. What more do they need to do for the BBC to say, look, these are terrorists. They really are.”
The BBC pushed back at accusations that it deals gingerly with Hamas.
“No one consuming BBC News can be left unaware of the horrific nature of Hamas’ acts,” a spokesperson told the Guardian. “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 U.K. government.”
Hamas killed 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and kidnapped hundreds on Oct. 7, sparking an Israeli counter-offensive that has killed tens of thousands of Palestinians in Gaza. The prolonged attack, expanding to Rafah, has generated protests and mounting disapproval from the Biden administration.
