BBC Watch

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bbcwatch was an organisation set up to pressurise the BBC into producing news coverage more favourable to Israel. It was owned and run by Trevor Asserson, [1] an English solicitor now based in Israel. According to The Lawyer his Jerusalam based law firm Asserson Law is the first UK law firm based in another country. [2]

According to its own account bbcwatch was established in 2000, but it did not produce its first report until March 2002. [3] It was incorporated as a UK limited company in February 2004 and dissolved in November 2007. According to its only accounts filed the issue of shares to Trevor Asserson was the company's only transaction. [4]

bbcwatch produced a number of reports detailing BBC output and incidents or trends evidencing a perceived bias. For example the organisation's first report, entitled 'The BBC and the Middle East - a Critical Study', argued amongst other things that the BBC should use the perjorative term 'terrorism' to describe Hamas; that the West Bank and Gaza should not be described as ‘occupied Palestinian Land’ or ‘occupied Palestinian territories’ since it suggests that there previously existed an 'autonomous sovereign Palestinian territory'; that Yasser Arafat should not be described as President or Presidential; and that the illegal settlements in the West Bank and Gaza should not be described as being 'illeged' but instead referred to as settlements in 'disputed territories'. [5]

Notes

  1. Companies House, BBCWatch Ltd Annual Returns made up to 19 February 2005
  2. Tom Phillips, 'Firm Profile: Asserson Law', The Lawyer, 23 March 2009
  3. bbcwatch, 'The BBC and the Middle East - a Critical Study', March 2002
  4. Companies House, BBCWatch Accounts made up to 28 February 2005
  5. bbcwatch, 'The BBC and the Middle East - a Critical Study', March 2002