The BBC succumbs to Israeli pressure and abandons charity appeal. Police protect BBC from its viewers in a small misunderstanding between police and campaigners about how many and who can hand in a petition to the British Broadcasting Corporation at the entrance to Broadcasting House. The BBC normally a news provider became itself the news story when it refused to transmit an appeal for humanitarian aid for the victims of the war in Gaza, at the end of the conflict with Israel. A number of leading humanitarian campaigners including, Tony Benn, Lindsey German, Andrew Murray, Betty Hunter, Mohammed Sawalha, Kate Hudson, George Galloway MP, Jeremy Corbyn MP and others deliver an open letter to the BBC urging them to reconsider their decision, and asking them to broadcast the humanitarian aid appeal as a matter of urgency to help relieve the suffering of the victims of war in Gaza. The event is accompanied by a demonstration and a march ending in Trafalgar Square. London, UK, 24 January 2009
Date: 24/01/2009
Location: Portland Place, London, UK
Photographer: Richard Keith Wolff
