Palestine Action said its activists early today (17 February) targeted BBC’s headquarters in Portland Place, London, covering the outer ground floor in blood-red paint and breaking windows. The group blamed the BBC for “downplaying Israeli war crimes” while failing to “provide a platform for Palestinian voices”, making it “complicit in the genocide unfolding in Gaza”. This is the second time the group targets the building.

In an open letter last November, more than 100 BBC staff wrote to its Director-General Tim Davie and Chief Executive Officer Deborah Turness, criticising the broadcaster for providing “favourable coverage to Israel” and failing to uphold a “basic journalistic tenet” when holding Israel to account. A year previously, eight BBC journalists sent a letter to Al Jazeera accusing the BBC of a “double standard in how civilians are seen”, given that it is “unflinching” in its reporting of alleged Russian war crimes in Ukraine.