BBC Radio 4 star Emma Barnett sparks outrage after calling armed terrorists who kidnapped Israeli grandmother 'men working for Hamas' - as the Beeb continues to refuse to brand the thugs 'terrorists'

BBC Radio 4 star Emma Barnett has sparked a backlash after calling a pair of armed terrorists who kidnapped an Israeli grandmother 'men working for Hamas'. 

The Today programme host was telling listeners about a 75-year-old grandmother of six who was horrifically snatched at gunpoint by Hamas terrorists on October 7 - a day in which more than 1,100 people in Israel were killed and 253 were taken captive.

In the latest example of the BBC refusing to brand Hamas as terrorists, she said: 'On October 7 last year Ada Sagi's life changed forever. She was having a morning coffee at home in Nir Oz kibbutz on the border with Gaza, when suddenly several men working for Hamas burst into her home and forced her barefoot by gunpoint onto a motorbike and took her hostage.' 

Barnett went on to say that 116 hostages taken by Hamas that day are still unaccounted for.

Ada Sagi was held hostage by Hamas for 53 days before she was released. Lifelong peace activist Ms Sagi described the men who took her as 'two Hamas terrorists' and added: 'I saw many, many terrorists outside and many people running [from the] shooting.'

The Campaign Against Antisemitism said it was 'unfathomable' that the BBC would not call Hamas terrorists, adding that it 'only fuels anti-Jewish extremists and apologists for terrorism'.

A spokesman told The Telegraph: 'Ofcom has made it crystal clear that there is no rule stopping the BBC from referring to Hamas as terrorists, so what is the Corporation waiting for?'

Later on in the programme, Barnett again failed to call Hamas terrorists.

She said: 'Several men working for Hamas burst into her home and forced her barefoot at gunpoint onto a motorbike and took her hostage alongside scores of others.'

The former Woman's Hour presenter also did not mention Hamas is a proscribed terrorist organisation in the UK.

Last month, Lord Cameron challenged the BBC over their failure to describe Hamas as 'terrorists'. He was speaking after Hamas released a video showing Nadav Popplewell, a British-Israeli hostage, who the terrorist group claimed had died in Gaza after being wounded in an Israeli air strike.

The Foreign Secretary furiously urged the broadcaster to 'ask itself again' about how it labels Hamas in the wake of the October 7 atrocities. 

Speaking on BBC's Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg on May 12, he blasted the 'callous' terrorists for 'playing with the family's emotions'.

'Maybe it's a moment actually for the BBC to ask itself again, should we describe these people as terrorists? They are terrorists,' the Foreign Secretary added.

Just 24 hours later, the BBC's Nick Robinson ignored Lord Cameron's request while talking about Israel's military operations in southern Gaza on Radio 4.

'Is there a sense that Benjamin Netanyahu is walking a political tightrope, proceeding with military action against what he says are the remaining targets of the group he calls terrorists, Hamas?' he asked Jo Floto, the BBC's Middle East bureau editor.

Robinson's wording was met with a backlash, including from Tory MP Sir Michael Fabricant, who said on social media: 'Why does Nick Robinson say on BBC Radio 4 'Hamas, a terrorist organisation as Israel would say' when Hamas is a terrorist organisation and is proscribed as such by the United Kingdom and EU?'

John Simpson, the BBC's world affairs editor, previously said: 'We don't take sides. We don't use loaded words like 'evil' or 'cowardly'. We don't talk about 'terrorists'.

Deborah Turness, the BBC's head of news, also defended not describing Hamas as terrorists and the Corporation has not changed its policy.

Broadcaster Kirsty Young, who was a Desert Island Discs and Crimewatch presenter for the BBC, suggested the Corporation refuses to call Hamas terrorists because it does not want to anger the group and lose access to reporting. 

Speaking on the Adam Buxton podcast shortly after October 7 attacks, Young, 54, said: 'It's not necessarily the BBC that is talking about the use of the word terrorism. They're answering criticism from the outside and I guess as long as – especially when it comes to something in the Middle East – if you're getting roughly the same amount of complaints from both sides, which they are, then you kind of know you're doing an OK job.

'And I think this whole reporting that it is a proscribed terror organisation with reference to Hamas, then that is a legitimate stance if you want to continue to have access and to report what is happening in those places. Because what you don't want to do is get thrown out of places because you're not allowed to report any more.

'You want to have access. You know the whole point of the BBC in news terms is to show people the evidence as fairly as they possibly can.'

The BBC previously said: 'Our coverage of the unprecedented assault on Israel by Hamas has made clear the nature of the atrocities committed and the impact this has had on civilians.

'Across our reporting, we have explained that Hamas is proscribed as a terrorist organisation by many Western governments, including the UK.

'We have reflected the response from the international community to Hamas' actions, and featured contributors who have described them as terrorists.

'We have given careful consideration to all aspects of our reporting of the Israel-Gaza conflict, both in terms of Hamas's attacks and Israel's response – this includes the language that we use.

'The BBC is editorially independent. Our role is to explain precisely what is happening so that the public can make their own judgments. Our long-standing position, including during previous conflicts between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, has been that we do not use the term 'terrorist' without attribution, in line with the BBC's Editorial Guidelines.'

The BBC was contacted for comment regarding Emma Barnett.