Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions she has had with Ofcom on the levels of the BBC's (a) impartiality and (b) journalistic integrity.

Ministers and officials meet with Ofcom regularly to discuss a range of issues. It is ultimately for Ofcom, the independent regulator, to ensure the BBC is fulfilling its obligations to audiences as outlined in the Charter.

The BBC has a duty to provide accurate and impartial news and information. That is particularly important when it comes to coverage of highly sensitive issues such as the conflict in Gaza.

The duty to accurately report on what is happening to people in Gaza is absolutely fundamental. That is why the Government believes that the BBC and others have a responsibility to exercise utmost care and due diligence in the way in which they report on this conflict.

This Government will not tolerate antisemitism, which has no place in our society.

The BBC itself has rightly acknowledged, where coverage, standards and enforcement of those standards has fallen short and the BBC Chair has recently set out actions to address these which we welcome. The Government does not however believe the BBC to be institutionally anti-semitic nor institutionally biased.