Complaint
This edition of Newsnight included an interview with the former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak. 聽A viewer complained the approach and tone of the interviewer was hostile to Mr Barak and the Israeli point of view, to the extent that it cast doubt on the 麻豆社鈥檚聽 impartiality.
Outcome
The interview took place around two weeks after the Hamas attack on Israel, at a time when there were mounting concerns about a possible widening of the conflict across the Middle East. 聽The former Prime Minister was asked about a range of issues including the calls for a ceasefire and whether assurances Israel had sufficient intelligence information to target its attacks only on military targets could be squared with the failure of the same intelligence sources to anticipate the attacks of 7 October.聽 Whilst the interview was robust in content and tone, in the ECU鈥檚 view the line of questioning and the approach taken by the interviewer did not impinge on the 麻豆社鈥檚 impartiality and was within the bounds of what a Newsnight audience might have expected, given the subject matter and the fact that the interviewee was a highly experienced politician well used to fielding challenging questions.
Not Upheld