The BBC ignored Jewish victims when covering the International Holocaust Remembrance Day and has since apologised for its error. The taxpayer-funded broadcaster described Tuesday’s omission as “hurtful, disrespectful, and wrong.”
The BBC covered the annual day of remembrance for the murder of six million men, women and children in Nazi death camps during World War II, but at least four news presenters are claimed to have neglected to mention the murdered victims were Jewish and targeted for their faith.
The report on BBC Breakfast introduced by Jon Kay said the day was “for remembering the six million people murdered by the Nazi regime over 80 years ago” without specifying the deaths targeted Jewish victims.
The word “Jews” was also erased from the BBC Radio 4 report on Holocaust Memorial Day.
The Campaign for Media Standards highlighted similar introductions by other presenters accusing the BBC of using the same script throughout the day even as the streets of London were lit up in remembrance for the suffering of Jews at the hands of Nazism.
The Piccadilly Lights mark Holocaust Memorial Day as pictured in Piccadilly Circus on January 27, 2026 in London, England. (Alishia Abodunde/Getty)
Lord Pickles, the UK’s former special envoy for post-Holocaust issues, called the omission “an unambiguous example of Holocaust distortion, which is a form of denial.” Pickles added, “For the BBC to use it today is shocking. They should be fighting antisemitism, not aiding it.”
Karen Pollock CBE , chief executive of the Holocaust Educational Trust, publicly made clear her disgust, saying, “The Holocaust was the murder of six million Jewish men, women, and children. Any attempt to dilute the Holocaust, strip it of its Jewish specificity, or compare it to contemporary events is unacceptable on any day. On Holocaust Memorial Day, it is especially hurtful, disrespectful, and wrong.”
The BBC said in a statement: “This morning’s BBC programming commemorated Holocaust Memorial Day. The Today programme featured interviews with relatives of Holocaust survivors, and a report from our Religion Editor. In both of these items we referenced the six million Jews murdered during the Holocaust. The Chief Rabbi recorded the Thought for the Day.
“BBC Breakfast featured a project organised by the Holocaust Educational Trust in which a Jewish survivor of the Holocaust recorded her memories.
“In the news bulletins on Today and in the introduction to the story on BBC Breakfast there were references to Holocaust Memorial Day which were incorrectly worded, and for which we apologise. Both should have referred to ‘six million Jewish people’ and we will be issuing a correction on our website.”
It comes after Jewish groups demanded an apology for the blunder.
This is not the first time the BBC has been found out for its poor news coverage in recent times.
U.S. President Donald Trump is currently seeking up to $5 billion in damages from the BBC in his planned lawsuit over the public broadcaster’s “doctored” edits of his speech on January 6th which implied he called for violent action.
The BBC has since issued a formal apology to the president and admitted the spliced edits in the Panorama documentary gave “the mistaken impression that President Trump had made a direct call for violent action.”
The broadcaster further said that it would not air the programme again. However, despite admitting fault, the BBC said that it does not plan to pay any damages in compensation to Trump.
UK taxpayers fund the BBC primarily through the compulsory annual TV licence fee, which generated £3.66 billion ($US 5.04 billion) to £3.8 billion (U.S.$5.23 billion) in the 2023/24 and 2024–25 financial years.
This tax on viewers accounted for approximately 68 percent of the BBC’s total income, with the remainder coming from commercial activities.