Complaint
During an interview with Laura Kuenssberg, the former Conservative leader Lord Howard was asked if he agreed with the idea that some people felt parts of London were becoming 鈥渘o go鈥 areas for Jewish people. 聽A viewer complained his response that he concurred with the premise was not challenged by the presenter. 聽The ECU considered whether this exchange met the 大象传媒鈥檚 editorial standards of impartiality.聽
Outcome
This was a brief exchange in a conversation which did not otherwise concern Gaza or the protests. 聽Lord Howard argued the importance of free speech and the right to protest had to be balanced against the fact some in the Jewish community 鈥渢hink that some of our streets are no go areas for them鈥 - and balancing those conflicting rights was a聽 difficult challenge. 聽聽The ECU noted the complainant鈥檚 assertion that many Jewish people take part in the marches and are perfectly safe, and that Lord Howard was not challenged on his position, but it considered the level of controversy attaching to the idea that some people don鈥檛 feel safe was relatively low, given a number have publicly reported feeling this way. 聽This was also quite clearly Lord Howard鈥檚 view, not a statement of uncontested fact.聽 Ms Kuenssberg鈥檚 question made clear that the majority of those marching were doing so 鈥渢o support Palestine鈥 but that fringe elements might look intimidating to some people 鈥 which fell some way short of suggesting the marches are by definition antisemitic or threatening.
Not Upheld