Nick Robinson says he ‘should have been clearer’ after Gaza interview row

Nick Robinson has said he “should have been clearer” when describing Israeli attacks in Gaza as “murders”, and that his words did not represent his or the BBC’s view.

The veteran broadcaster faced criticism for his choice of language during an interview with the foreign secretary, David Cameron, on the UK’s position after Iran’s attack on Israel over the weekend.

The prime minister has repeatedly said that there have been too many civilian deaths in Gaza, while maintaining that Israel has the right to defend itself.

In response to questions, Sunak’s official spokesperson said: “Impartiality, in reference to the BBC, is absolutely paramount.

Actually, over this weekend and into this week, people can see that the truly malign actor in this region is Iran, a country that has launched a state-on-state attack.

He explained: “My final question was about the perceived ‘morality’ of the government’s position – in particular the ‘risk’ that their position could ‘appear’ to look like active support for Israel when it is under attack but nothing other than words ‘when Israel attacks or murders tens of thousands of innocent Palestinians’.