BBC targeted by anti-war demo

BBC targeted by anti-war demo

Protesters claim the BBC reporting is "sanitised"

Hundreds of anti-war campaigners have targeted the BBC in Birmingham over what they claim is the "sanitised" reporting of war.

About 300 campaigners from the Stop the War Coalition and members of the Muslim community held a demonstration outside the BBC's Pebble Mill building on Saturday.

They claim the BBC has failed to give adequate coverage to the Iraq conflict and accused the corporation of being influenced by Tony Blair.

Lynne Hubbard, from the Stop the War Coalition, said the BBC had failed to show pictures of the people killed in Iraq as a result of the conflict.

'Impartial stance'

"Innocent lives are being lost in Iraq but people are not being allowed to see that - the information is being filtered," she said.

"The job of the BBC should be to report the truth of the atrocities as a result of the attacks."

Azhar Qayum, from the Muslim Association of Britain, said images of people with horrific injuries should be shown on television.

"If it is not decent to see them, then it is not decent to cause that damage," he said.

A spokeswoman for the BBC said the corporation was committed to impartiality.

She added: "We aim to provide accurate, authoritative and in-depth coverage of events as they happen.

"In times like these, the BBC's impartial stance is criticised from both sides."