BBC books comedian who accused Israel of ‘committing war crimes’ to host show

The BBC was at the centre of another impartiality row last night after a pro-Palestinian comic was picked to host Have I Got News for You – with one insider saying they and colleagues had been left stunned by the decision.

Guz Khan accused Israel of war crimes and ethnic cleansing in Gaza following Hamas’ atrocities in the state on October 7.

The Coventry comedian, 37, who has made appearances on Live at the Apollo and Man Like Mobeen, is due to take charge of the satirical news quiz on Friday night.

The decision sparked fury among BBC staff, with one saying they were “lost for words”.

It comes after some of the broadcaster’s own journalists accused it of failing to tell the story of the Israel-Palestine conflict accurately, omitting key historical context and making a greater effort to humanise Israeli victims than they did with Palestinian ones.

The corporation has strict impartiality guidelines regarding its news output and on-air talent, although rules do not apply to its comedy programmes.

In a post on social media, Mr Khan said: “Ethnic cleansing of the Palestinians.

“The system is set up in the West so that Israel have total, utter impunity to commit war crimes.”

Standing by the choice, the BBC said: “Hat Trick are a very experienced production company who have been making Have I Got News For You for 30 years.

“Hat Trick are a very experienced production company who have been making Have I Got News For You for 30 years.

“They know how to make the programme and it has always had people with a broad range of political views.

“Their job is to deliver a programme that fully complies with the BBC’s editorial standards.”

Mr Khan’s most recent post on X, formerly Twitter, says: “I spoke to my friend. She’s more than a friend. She’s mandem to me.

“She’s Jewish, and she said something that made me sad.

“She said she’s scared. She’s scared to even show she’s Jewish.

“This isn’t right. We know how that feels as Muslims. How our mothers and sisters feel daily.”