Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether she has sought assurances from the BBC on how it is ensuring that individuals with a history of antisemitic statements do not appear on (a) BBC Arabic and (b) other BBC channels.

This Government will not tolerate antisemitism, which has no place in our society.

The BBC is an incredibly important institution, it plays a crucial role in ensuring all communities are heard and feel valued as part of our public life. That is the standard that we expect the BBC to be held to. The BBC itself has rightly acknowledged where coverage, standards and enforcement of those standards has fallen short.

The Secretary of State has had regular conversations with the Chair to understand the BBC’s plans to address concerns that have emerged in recent months, including how the BBC is approaching the issue of antisemitism.

In particular, the Government welcomes the actions taken by the BBC to strengthen editorial quality and standards for the BBC Arabic Service, as set out in the BBC Chair’s letter to the Media, Culture and Sport Committee of 10 November.

What is important moving forward, is that the BBC continues to demonstrate how it is working diligently to maintain the high standards for which it is rightfully recognised.