British regulator says BBC’s Gaza documentary broke broadcasting rules

LONDON - Britain's media regulator Ofcom said a BBC documentary about children's lives in Gaza narrated by the 13-year-old son of a deputy agriculture minister in the Hamas-run government broke broadcasting rules.

It said the failure to disclose the position of the boy's father was "materially misleading".

The BBC removed Gaza: How To Survive A War Zone from its online platform in February, five days after it was broadcast.

Its own investigation found in July that the programme had breached its editorial guidelines on accuracy.

However, it said there was no evidence that outside interests had "inappropriately impacted on the programme".

Ofcom, which received 20 complaints about the documentary, said it had directed the BBC to broadcast a statement on its findings on a date to be confirmed. REUTERS