THE BBC spent £400,000 of licence payers’ cash making a documentary branded a propaganda show for evil terror group Hamas, The Sun can reveal.
Highly placed sources confirmed the huge sum was handed to the production company behind controversial prime-time programme Gaza: How to Survive a Warzone.
The main narrator of the heart-tugging, supposedly factual exposé – 13-year-old Abdulla Eliyazour – was revealed to be the son of senior Hamas official Dr Ayman Al-Yazouri.
Money spent on the hour-long BBC2 programme was revealed yesterday as Tory leader Kemi Badenoch demanded to know whether any of the cash went to Hamas.
BBC bosses were forced to withdraw the documentary from its iPlayer streaming service last week pending “further due diligence” checks after being accused of pro-Hamas bias.
Anger grew after Beeb bosses initially tried to defend the programme, and blamed London-based production company Hoyo Films for not revealing the boy’s link.
But the contract between the BBC and Hoyo suggests the corporation had direct and regular involvement – and shows action should have taken action.
One section of the contract reads: “We will address editorial compliance issues as they arise by having regular updates and phone calls with the commissioning editor.”
The documentary was made by the BBC’s Current Affair TV arm which paid award-winning Hoyo Films to craft the production.
But it was still unclear last night why the boy’s appearance was allowed by the department’s commissioning editor Gian Quaglieni.
Under-fire corporation chiefs yesterday declined to add to previous comments on the continuing controversy.
But ex-boss Danny Cohen – former director of BBC television – demanded clarity as to who was responsible and whether Hamas were given licence cash on Monday.
Mr Cohen said: “The BBC needs to account for every penny spent on this documentary – £400,000 is a lot of licence-fee payers money.
“They should be transparently told where their money went and whether any of it reached the hands of Hamas.
“The BBC must also launch a wider investigation into systemic bias against Israel after repeated editorial failures since the October 7 massacres.”
In her letter to Director General of the BBC, Tim Davie, Mrs Badenoch said: “It is now clear to me that you should commission a full independent inquiry to consider this and wider allegations of systemic BBC bias against Israel.
ON OCTOBER 7, 2023, Hamas launched a brutal surprise attack on Israel, marking one of the darkest days in the nation’s history.
Terrorists stormed across the border from Gaza, killing over 1,200 people — most of them civilians — and kidnapping 250 others, including women, children, and the elderly.
The coordinated assault saw heavily armed fighters infiltrate Israeli towns, kibbutzim, and military bases, unleashing indiscriminate violence.
Innocent families were slaughtered in their homes, and graphic footage of the atrocities spread across social media, leaving the world in shock.
And as well as attacking people in their homes, they stormed the Nova music peace festival – killing at least 364 people there alone.
The massacre triggered a swift and massive retaliatory response from Israel, escalating into a full-scale war.
The attack not only reignited long-standing tensions in the region but also left deep scars on both sides of the conflict, setting the stage for the 16 months of devastation that followed.
“It is well known that inside Gaza the influence of the proscribed terrorist organisation Hamas is pervasive.
“How could any programme from there be commissioned, without comprehensive work by the BBC to ensure that presenters or participants were – as far as possible – not linked to that appalling regime?
“Would the BBC be this naive if it was commissioning content from North Korea or the Islamic Republic of Iran?”
Mrs Badenoch added that it was “profoundly troubling” that the BBC initially defended the documentary insisting it “remains a powerful child’s eye view of the devastating consequences of the war”.
And she warned the Tory Party would be unable to continue supporting the BBC’s licence fee generated funding unless heads roll.
She said: “Surely it should have been immediately apparent that the programme was fundamentally flawed?
“An investigation must consider allegations of potential collusion with Hamas’ and the possibility of payment to Hamas officials.
“These are not isolated incidents.”
Left-wing bias is alleged to have tainted BBC coverage of the Gaza War ever since October 7 and has sparked numerous calls for a crackdown.
And a BBC reporter who triggered one of the first bias rows of the war was yesterday revealed to have sparked more fury with an inflammatory online post.
On October 17 – ten days after Hamas massacred 1,200 people and grabbed 251 hostages – Jon Donnison told viewers it appeared “an Israeli air strike or several air strikes” had blitzed Gaza’s Al-Ahli Hospital.
It later emerged that a miss-fired Hamas rocket hit the medical centre in an attack reported to have claimed 500 lives.
But Mr Donnison was slammed on X for posting on Saturday: “The propaganda efforts by both Hamas and Israel over the hostage releases are pretty nauseating.”
He took down the post and apologised yesterday after his comment triggered fury.
X user David Collier raged: “He sees Hamas abusing and torturing Israeli hostages on TV.
“Then he sees Israeli families indescribable happiness as their loved ones return.
“And he thinks they are the same – we should not be paying his salary.”
Sarah Deech posted: “BBC Middle East reporter Jon Donnison seems to think Hamas’s grotesque displays of jihadi ideology, glorifying death and violence, are somehow equivalent to Israelis welcoming home emaciated, tortured hostages.”
The BBC said: “Gaza: How to Survive a Warzone features important stories we think should be told – those of the experiences of children in Gaza.
“There have been continuing questions raised about the programme and in the light of these, we are conducting further due diligence with the production company.
“The programme will not be available on iPlayer while this is taking place.”
Questioned about the cost of the show to licence payers yesterday, a BBC spokeswoman told The Sun: “We have nothing further to add to our latest statement.”
IRELAND’s Shane Lowry is the bookies favorite for this week’s Cognizant Classic at PGA National.
The PGA Tour enters its ‘Florida Swing’ and the Offaly star will be chomping a bit ahead of the run in the state he resides in.
World number 19 Lowry is favourite on the The Palm Beach Gardens course which is home of the infamous ‘Bear Trap.’
15, 16 and 17 make up the stretch of holes – a pair of par-3s sandwiching a tough par-4 – they each rank as some of the hardest on tour.
The 37-year-old has finished inside the top-5 during the last three years at this tournament, and has been installed as 20/1 favourite with the majority of book makers.
Sixteen of the top 50 golfers in the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) will compete for a share of the $9.2 million purse.
The Irishman has netted $2,242,000 from three tournaments to date on the 2025 FedEx Cup season.
His best finish was as runner-up to Rory McIlroy at the AT&T Pebble Beach PRO-AM last month in California.
The Clara native also finished third at the API at Bay Hill, which takes place next week on stage two of the Florida swing.
But the competition will be fierce with a number of top players in the field for Thursday’s opening round.
Its very much a horses for courses track.
SunSport takes a look of the ones to watch as the PGA Tour hits the Sunshine State.
Shane Lowry @ 19/1 – The Irishman will be looking for his first solo win on the PGA Tour since 2019, and this could be the course he was so agonisingly close to winning on in 2022.
Sepp Straka @ 20/1 – The Austrian claimed the 2022 edition of this tournament over Ryder Cup pal Lowry, he’s already won at The AMEX this season. He missed the cut at The Genesis but has five top 20s on his season, including the win at PGA West.
Min Woo Lee @ 22/1 – The Australian has two top 20 finishes in as many events on the PGA Tour this season, and looks to have found a solid bag man in Shane Lowry’s former Caddie, Brian ‘Bo’ Martin. He finished second here last year to Austin Ekroat.
Jordan Spieth – @40/1 – It’s his first ever appearance at PGA National, the American is three events back from wrist surgery, and has showed flashes of his brilliance. Can’t be ignored for an e-w bet at a big price.
Luke Clanton @ 50/1 – The amateur star, who will earn a PGA Tour card if he makes the cut this week after a sponsor’s invite has solid form when he’s played on tour. The 22-year-old has made 8/11 cuts, along with two runners-up finishes as an amateur on tour.
Matteo Manassero @ 125/1 – Struggles with the driver at times but the former Ryder Cup star will be suited to one of the shorter tracks on the tour. He’s played PGA National twice before, finishing 29th and 12th, and faired well two weeks ago at Torrey Pines.
Pope Francis showed slight improvement in lab tests Monday and resumed some work activities, including calling a parish in Gaza City that he has kept in touch with since the war there began, the Vatican said.
The latest update said the 88-year-old Francis, suffering from pneumonia in both lungs, hadn’t had any more respiratory crises.
The slight kidney insufficiency detected on Sunday was of no concern.
He is continuing to receive supplemental oxygen and doctors say his prognosis remains guarded.
He received the Eucharist in the morning and resumed working in the afternoon.
In the evening he called the parish priest of the Gaza parish to express his fatherly closeness, the statement said.
More to follow… For the latest news on this story keep checking back at The Sun Online
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ITALIANS are spoiled when it comes to their football presenters.
And they don’t come any more beautiful than DAZN host Eleonora Incardona.
The pretty brunette regularly turns heads when she’s reporting on the touchline at stadiums including the San Siro in Milan and the Allianz Stadium in Turin.
It’s led to admirers hailing her as the “next Diletta Leotta” as the 34-year-old continues to grow her fanbase.
On Instagram she has over one million followers who stay tuned to her glam life on and off the pitch.
That includes dating Italian international Samuele Ricci, who stars for Torino.
SunSport invites you to get to know a bit more about Eleonora in case you haven’t been tuning into Serie A (until now).
Eleonora hails from Sicily, where inhabitants are considered hot-blooded by their fellow Italians.
But it’s the gorgeous former model who stirs emotions.
She graduated in law and appeared destined for a life in the courtroom.
However, in 2010 she appeared in the Miss Italia competition and it changed her life forever.
She scored modelling gigs and it appeared her life was set as an influencer.
However, her calling with presenting came when Sportitalia offered her a job in her homeland.
Last year, DAZN brought her into the mainstream when she began hosting their Giro d’Italia coverage.
But it was no surprise that the streaming giant encouraged her to try her hand at football.
Earlier this month, DAZN’s viewers were treated to Eleonora’s talents.
She stepped in for Diletta Leotta to present the channel’s coverage of Juventus against Inter Milan.
Comments online called her “the new Diletta” – with some even suggesting she could replace the regular host.
Most recently, she spoke about football being her real passion.
She told La Gazzetta dello Sport: “The stadium is something special for me.
“The opportunity to be close to the action, to study the details, to understand what is happening by listening to the voices of the protagonists, gives something extra that is difficult to explain.
“Obviously, I cannot forget the first matches I saw live in Catania.”
It’s not just Eleonora’s professional life that is thriving.
She is currently in a romance with Italian international midfielder Ricci.
They went public with their relationship on Instagram in 2024.
Astonishingly, Eleonora was engaged to Diletta Leotta’s stepbrother Mirko Manolo before she met Ricci.
She revealed in an interview with La Gazzetta dello Sport: “I am very happy with him. I met him in one of the most complicated periods of my life.
“I was only thinking about work to distract myself from everything else. And instead I met a wonderful person, with sound principles and strong values.”
KATIE Price is in talks with a telly legend to record her own BBC documentary, The Sun can exclusively reveal.
The former glamour model, 46, has met with Louis Theroux‘s production company to discuss a potential new show.
Katie is keen for fans to see ‘every side of her’ and believes BAFTA-winning Louis is the man to make it happen.
Louis recently produced Boybands Forever, which starred members of heartthrob bands including Take That, East 17, 911 and Westlife.
The BBC2 series looked at the 90s bands’ rise to fame and the struggles some of the stars found themselves facing after hitting the big time.
Katie is keen to work with Louis as she believes he could be the man behind her own tell-all.
A source tells The Sun: “Katie has had meetings with Louis’ production company about doing a BBC documentary about her life.
“She has appeared on Louis’ podcast and really impressed him, he finds her fascinating and believes the public haven’t seen every side of her.
“No deal has been officially signed yet but Katie has told pals she’s really keen for it all to come off.”
Katie is no stranger to the small screen, having both fronted and appeared in a long list of telly shows over the years.
She also appeared on The Louis Theroux Podcast last October and spoke to Louis about her love life and cosmetic surgery.
More recently, she appeared in her own hard-hitting documentary about her IVF journey.
The Channel 4 show, called Katie Price: Making Babies, was filmed when the mum-of-five was still engaged to her now-ex fiance Carl Woods.
Scenes tackled the heart-wrenching moment Katie discovered her IVF hadn’t worked – meaning she wasn’t pregnant – as well as the pair’s painful relationship split.
Last month, fresh off the back of the documentary finally airing in the UK, Katie hinted at a forthcoming project with documentary kingpin Louis.
Katie attended The Gossies 2025 in Dublin, Ireland, and was asked: “Have you been approached for more reality shows recently?”
She replied: “The thing is, I always say, I don’t need to do other people’s reality shows because I have my own.
“So watch this space for this year.”
Katie has starred in plenty of her own shows about her life in the spotlight and relationships.
Katie is no stranger to TV and has starred in countless shows over the years. Here, we look back at the ones she has fronted.
2002: Katie Price launched her TV career with a documentary called Jordan: The Truth About Me.
2004: Katie’s show, directed by film maker Richard Macer, was followed up with Jordan: The Model Mum and Jordan: You Don’t Even Know Me. In the same year, she appeared in Jordan Gets Even. In this show, she underwent a dramatic transformation with special effects to try and fool her family.
2004: When Jordan Met Peter. Katie appeared in the first of many series’ with Peter Andre following their whirlwind romance in I’m A Celebrity Get Met Out Of Here.
2005: Jordan & Peter: Laid Bare, Jordan & Peter: Marriage and Mayhem.
2007: Katie & Peter: The Next Chapter, Katie & Peter: The Baby Diaries, Katie & Peter: Unleashed.
2008: Katie & Peter: Down Under, Katie & Peter: African Adventures.
2009: Katie & Peter: Stateside.
2009- 2011: What Katie Did Next .This was Katie’s own series following her break-up and divorce with Peter.
2021: Katie Price: Harvey and Me. Katie fronted the first of two BBC documentaries with her disabled son Harvey.
2022: Katie Price: What Harvey Did Next.
2022- 2023: Katie Price’s Mucky Mansion. Katie attempted to renovated her ‘Muck Mansion’ in Sussex for Channel 4.
2025: Katie Price: Making Babies. This followed Katie and Carl Woods’ failed attempt at conceiving via IVF.
She first dipped her toe into the world of documentaries in 2002, with Jordan: The Truth About Me.
This was followed up with another two stand-alone shows, before she moved on to the Katie & Peter franchise, which came during her marriage to Peter Andre.
More recently, Katie has fronted two documentaries for the BBC about life with her disabled son Harvey, 22.
Last year, she confirmed the BBC want to film a third instalment with the mother and son.
Katie even starred in her own series as she attempted to renovate her Mucky Mansion.
The star has now lost possession of the dilapidated property following her two bankruptcies, putting an end to the series.
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Thiruvananthapuram, Feb 24 (SocialNews.XYZ) Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Monday gave a clarion call to all state government officials and asked them to keep away from corrupt practices. He was speaking after inaugurating the...
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