Board condemns Ofcom ruling over Willcox

Board vice president Jonathan Arkush has condemned the decision of Ofcom not to uphold complaints made against BBC reporter Tim Willcox over remarks he made to a Jewish woman.

In the interview, which took place at the recent Paris rally in solidarity with victims of terror, Mr Willcox spoke to a woman who was expressing the fears of French Jews. Mr Willcox told her: “Palestinians suffer hugely at Jewish hands as well”.

Ofcom ruled that the remarks were “justified by the context in which they were presented”.

However Mr Arkush said ““The objection to Willcox’s interview was his suggestion that French Jews could expect to be targeted by terrorists because of the conflict between Israel and Hamas. Ofcom seem to have missed the point entirely. Ofcom also seem to have forgotten that Willcox himself admitted he had got it wrong and apologised.”

The BBC are conducting their own investigation into the comments made by Mr Willcox and expect an outcome by February 23.