The style book of the BBC and other British media, especially television channels, recommends not referring to members of the Hamas organization as “terrorists” but “militants”, “insurgents”, “resistants”, “attackers” or “ kidnappers” so as not to appear that journalists are taking sides in a conflict of extraordinary complexity in which neither party has a monopoly on atrocities. This, however, has sparked strong criticism from the Government and the right-wing press, for whom "the lack of neutrality consists precisely in not calling a spade a spade."
"In the English language - indicates the complaint of a group of lawyers to the regulatory body of the audiovisual media in the United Kingdom - there is a word to refer to those who cut the throats of children, kill indiscriminately, rape and do the atrocities that Hamas has done, and it is precisely the word terrorism.”
Regarding Hamas, according to BBC rules, the term “terrorism” can be used by its news presenters, reporters and journalists only as an attribution to someone, such as “Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has described as a terrorist.” .”. But not like something homegrown.
During the Northern Irish conflict, the state broadcaster also referred to IRA members as “militants” instead of “terrorists”, a practice that also deeply irritated the Government.
On the other hand, the BBC does classify Al Qaeda and Isis as terrorist groups, and does not hesitate to refer to their attacks as “terrorist acts.” British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly challenged BBC Breakfast presenter Sally Nugent to call Hamas members terrorists “because that is what they are”.
