GB News presenter Patrick Christys has criticised the BBC's coverage of the alleged plane hijacking of a flight to Dubai, accusing the broadcaster of including a "far-right" angle in its report.
Plane Hijacking Coverage Sparks Criticism
On Wednesday, a flight to Dubai was forced to land in Saudi Arabia, reportedly due to a terrorist attack. Israel is currently investigating whether the flight was a "9/11 style attack". Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said one pilot stabbed another and tried to crash a plane travelling from the United Arab Emirates to Israel.
On Thursday (October 1), the 34-year-old broadcaster took to X - formerly known as Twitter - to share his thoughts on the channel's coverage of the incident. He shared a clip from the Six O'Clock news, which covered the latest updates.
Christys' Reaction and Social Media Response
Broadcaster Kasia Madera began: "Israel's far-right national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, says that an Israel-bound flight that landed in Saudi Arabia was due to a terrorist who wanted to crash the plane and kill Israelis."
After watching the clip, the GB News host fumed: "Classic BBC intro to the plane hijacking story here... had to get the far-right in there somewhere."
It didn't take long for his fans to flock to the comments section to share their thoughts on the channel's coverage online.
One user agreed: "The BBC have absolutely no credibility left at all. No attempt at impartiality, no end of scandals involving predators. I can't understand why anyone would watch it or pay for a TV licence."
Another agreed: "I can't wait for the end of the BBC, it only has itself to blame", as a third chimed in with: "They are not good people at the BBC. Good people want fairness."
"I remember, almost, when the BBC was a trusted and impartial news source. What has it become?" a fourth asked.
Context and Official Statements
It comes after Israel's Prime Minister warned in recent days of unspecified, heightened security threats. The country is a week away from the anniversary of the Hamas-led October 7, 2023, attack on Israel, which sparked a series of wars, and is weeks away from an election.
A spokesperson for Netanyahu’s office said around 160 people on the plane were from Israel. Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz described what happened as an "attempted jihadist attack".
