BBC/Firewall Update: Not so much (Updated 1/26)

Tony Benn (Britain's Secretary of State for Energy) to BBC: "If you wont broadcast the Gaza appeal then I will myself." He's also has publicly argued that the BBC has betrayed its public service obligations following its decision not to broadcast a public appeal for funds for Gaza, adding:

"I appeal to the chairman of the BBC Trust to intervene to reverse this decision to save the lives of those who are now in acute danger of dying through a lack of food, fuel, water and medical supplies."

So much for editorial independence...

UPDATE: AJE gets into the mix. I wonder if AJE's support of broadcasting the call for humanitarian aid actually makes it less likely that the BBC will reverse its decision? From The Peninsula, via Kim Andrew Elliot's blog:

DOHA: Al Jazeera English has contacted the UK’s Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) to support their call to broadcast announcements for humanitarian aid for the victims of the Gaza War. Al Jazeera English has pledged to run public service announcements in UK prime time on Al Jazeera English at no cost in support of the Committee’s appeal. The announcements will begin running tomorrow. The appeal will be broadcast to UK citizens both in the UK and across the world with Al Jazeera English’s global reach to over 130 million households. “We launched the Gaza Crisis Appeal as the devastation inflicted in the Gazan territory was so huge that British aid agencies were compelled to act and we are pleased with Al Jazeera’s support to broadcast the humanitarian aid appeal announcements,” said Brendan Gormley, Chief Executive of the Disasters Emergency Committee. Al Jazeera English can be seen in the UK on Sky Guide number 514, on Freesat 203, and online at www.livestation.com/aje.

Update (2): Is the BBC's decision to not air the DEC appeal actually generating more attention to the cause than it would have had there not been any controversy? Those clever brits!

The BBC has been on the receiving end this weekend of some fairly heavy criticism for not broadcasting an appeal from the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) for donations to help people in the Gaza region. The Archbishop of Canterbury, a group of 50 MPs launching an Early Day Motion, 11,000 viewers and protestors outside Broadcasting House have urged the corporation to reconsider its stance...As such, there’s an argument that the BBC’s refusal to broadcast the charity’s appeal is generating even more coverage for it.

11,000 viewers came out to protest an editorial decision? Really? I'm going to look for some photos of this...