BBC Provokes Government Fury after Saying It Has to Be Fair to Isil

Lord Hall, the director general of the BBC, has rejected
calls to stop using the term Islamic State

THE TELEGRAPH: Lord Hall, the director general of the BBC, has provoked a furious response from the Government after saying it has duty of impartiality towards Isil

The BBC has been condemned by the government after claiming that it has to be impartial when reporting on Isil despite the terrorist atrocities in Tunisia.

Lord Hall, the head of the BBC, has rejected calls from a cross-party group of 120 MPs to stop using the name Islamic State and because it "gives the impression of support" for its opponents.

The comments infuriated Chris Grayling, the leader of the Commons, who said that the BBC should treat the terrorist organisation in the same way that it treated Nazi Germany during the Second World War.

Speaking in the Commons, he said: "I have a different view of what impartiality means to the BBC. During the Second World War the BBC was a beacon of fact. It was not expected to be impartial between Britain and Germany.

“Today, it should be a beacon of fact but it’s not expected to be impartial about threats to the security and safety and lives and limbs of people of this nation.” » | Steven Swinford | Thursday, July 2, 2015