Evidence of an effective firewall at the BBC?

Of relevance given our discussion of the BBC's different tasks last week. Would airing the appeal for aid actually impacted the credibility of BBC news, or is the BBC just being overly cautious given a history of accusations of having an anti-Israel slant in its coverage in the Middle East?

The Director General of the BBC has rebuffed a request from the Government to reconsider its decision not to broadcast a charity appeal for the aid effort in Gaza.

In a letter to Douglas Alexander sent this evening, Mark Thompson, the head of the corporation, said that even if it was possible to deliver aid to Gaza, the BBC would not transmit an appeal from the Disasters & Emergency Committee (DEC) because to do so would tarnish the broadcaster’s attempts to remain impartial in the conflict.

Mr Alexander wrote to chiefs of broadcasters this morning expressing his disappointment that no television appeal will appear, saying the humanitarian situation in Gaza is “dire”.