Nick Robinson has said he “should have been clearer” when describing Israeli attacks in Gaza as “murders”, and that his words did not represent his or the BBC’s view.
The veteran broadcaster faced criticism for his choice of language during an interview with the foreign secretary, David Cameron, on the UK’s position after Iran’s attack on Israel over the weekend.
Downing Street said Rishi Sunak would not have used the word “murder” to describe deaths in Gaza, when asked about the BBC Radio 4 Today programme interview, and suggested that people should be “careful with their words”.
The prime minister has repeatedly said that there have been too many civilian deaths in Gaza, while maintaining that Israel has the right to defend itself.
More than 32,000 Palestinians have been killed and more than 74,000 injured in Gaza during the conflict, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.
In response to questions, Sunak’s official spokesperson said: “Impartiality, in reference to the BBC, is absolutely paramount. Complaints should be raised to the BBC, to Ofcom, in the usual ways if people feel they have issue with the way in which the BBC reported that.
“More broadly, though, Israel is an ally of the UK, is the victim of a brutal terror attack and clearly has a right to defend itself. We should all be careful with our words at this time, particularly given heightened community tensions in the UK.”
After the interview aired, the Tory MP Theresa Villiers described Robinson’s words as “shocking bias” in an interview with the Sun, and called for an “immediate investigation”.
In his final question to Lord Cameron, the BBC presenter had asked: “Isn’t the real risk of where we are now that western governments appear to back Israel the moment that Israel is under attack, but when Israel attacks and murders tens of thousands of innocent Palestinians, we say the words but we do almost nothing?”
Cameron replied: “I don’t think that’s right at all. Actually, over this weekend and into this week, people can see that the truly malign actor in this region is Iran, a country that has launched a state-on-state attack.
“And it’s this country, Iran, that is backing Hamas in Palestine, that’s backing Hezbollah in Lebanon, that’s backing the Houthis in the Red Sea.”
Responding to criticism of his remarks, Robinson wrote on X that there had been “some controversy” over his language. He explained: “My final question was about the perceived ‘morality’ of the government’s position – in particular the ‘risk’ that their position could ‘appear’ to look like active support for Israel when it is under attack but nothing other than words ‘when Israel attacks or murders tens of thousands of innocent Palestinians’.
“I should have been clearer that I was not expressing my own view, let alone that of the BBC, when I used the word ‘murders’.
“In this 15-minute-long interview I asked the foreign secretary why ministers had supported Israel militarily; why they didn’t go further and support Israel in confronting Iran; why they weren’t tougher in confronting Israel over Gaza and ended with that question about the perceived ‘morality’ and the ‘risk’ of how the government’s position ‘appears’.
“It was a lengthy and detailed exploration of the policy choices made by the government.”