Part of the debate – in the House of Lords at 4:08 pm on 12 November 2025.
Baroness Twycross
Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip), The Minister of State, Department for Culture, Media and Sport
4:08,
12 November 2025
This Government will not tolerate antisemitism; it has no place in our society. The BBC has rightly acknowledged and admitted mistakes, and the error of judgment was referred to by Dr Shah in his letter to the Commons Select Committee.
Where coverage standards and enforcement of those standards have fallen short, we are anticipating and would expect things to improve, as I have no doubt the noble Lord would understand. The chair has set out actions to address these, which we welcome, and the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee will have the opportunity to scrutinise these in due course.
However, the BBC is an incredibly important institution. It is important that we get the standards right, but it plays a crucial role in ensuring that all communities are heard and feel valued as part of our public life. That is a standard we expect, and we expect that to be driven through in any subsequent actions that the BBC might take.