Nick Robinson has said he “should have been clear” during an interview with the Foreign Secretary, following a row over his assertion that Israel had “murdered tens of thousands of innocent Palestinians”.

The BBC came under fire after the Today programme presenter put the claim to Lord Cameron towards the end of their exchange on BBC Radio 4 on Monday morning.

Mr Robinson subsequently said he was not expressing his own view, “let alone the view of the BBC”, following criticism of his suggestion.

In his final question to Lord Cameron, he said: “I want to end, if I could, with a question of morality. You will know, I think you’ve talked about, the fact that the West has been perceived to lose the argument with even many of its own people ever since the war on terror began.

“Isn’t the real risk of where we are now that western governments appear to back Israel the moment that Israel is under attack, but when Israel attacks and murders tens of thousands of innocent Palestinians, we say the words but we do almost nothing?”

Lord Cameron replied “I don’t think that’s right at all”, adding: “Actually, over this weekend and into this week, people can see that the truly malign actor in this region is Iran, a country that has launched a state-on-state attack, as you put it in your introduction.

“And it’s this country, Iran, that is backing Hamas in Palestine, that’s backing Hezbollah in Lebanon, that’s backing the Houthis in the Red Sea.”

Following criticism of his remarks, Mr Robinson wrote on X, formerly Twitter: “There’s been some controversy about words I used when I was interviewing the Foreign Secretary David Cameron on the Today programme about Israel this morning.

“My final question was about the perceived ‘morality’ of the Government’s position – in particular the ‘risk’ that their position could ‘appear’ to look like active support for Israel when it is under attack, but nothing other than words ‘when Israel attacks or murders tens of thousands of innocent Palestinians’.

“I should have been clearer that I was not expressing my own view let alone that of the BBC when I used the words ‘murders’.

“In this 15-minute long interview, I asked the Foreign Secretary why ministers had supported Israel militarily, why they didn’t go further and support Israel in confronting Iran, why they weren’t tougher in confronting Israel over Gaza and ended with that question about the perceived ‘morality’ and the ‘risk’ of how the Government’s position ‘appears’. It was a lengthy and detailed exploration of the policy choices made by the Government.”

According to the Hamas-run health ministry, more than 32,000 Palestinians have been killed and more than 74,000 have been wounded in Gaza during the current conflict, but the terror group’s figures are unverified and do not differentiate between civilians and combatants.

Rishi Sunak said this month there had been “too many civilian deaths” in Gaza, while maintaining Israel has the right to defend itself.

Mr Robinson’s line of questioning prompted a backlash from high-profile journalists and commentators on social media.

Stephen Pollard, editor-at-large of the Jewish Chronicle newspaper, claimed Mr Robinson had asked a “shocking question, even for the BBC”.

He wrote on X: “Murders? It’s one thing to accuse Israel of not taking enough care over civilians. But murder? Deliberately seeking to kill Palestinian civilians?”

Nicole Lampert, a journalist and broadcaster, added: “The BBC’s Today programme just lies here – dangerous lies. Israel has not deliberately ‘murdered tens of thousands’.”

Accusations of bias

A survey commissioned by the Jewish Chronicle in December found that more than three quarters of Jewish people thought the BBC’s coverage of the Gaza conflict was biased against Israel.

The national broadcaster has faced criticism since its refusal to describe Hamas as terrorists in the wake of the Oct 7 massacre, although it now states in its reporting that Hamas has been designated as a terrorist organisation by the Government.

Tim Davie, the BBC’s director-general, apologised after a reporter suggested Israel was responsible for a missile attack on a hospital in Gaza in October, which quickly turned out to have been a misfired rocket launched from within the Gaza Strip.

‘Dedicated’ to impartiality

The corporation has defended itself against such claims, with a spokesman insisting in response to allegations of bias that it “holds itself to high standards of impartial reporting and rejects the suggestion that we are biased against Israel”.

The BBC has previously said: “The conflict is a challenging and polarising story to cover, and we are dedicated to providing impartial reporting for audiences in the UK and across the world. 

“Our own audience research shows that BBC News is considered the most impartial provider for coverage of the conflict.”

Mr Robinson last year blamed the Today programme’s falling ratings on “news avoiders” who want to avoid the world’s problems, after the flagship current affairs show lost more than a million years over the course of a year.

“People just want to avoid the news,” he told Radio Times. “Market research literally calls them ‘news avoiders’. We will all know people who think, ‘I just can’t face the world any more’.”

The BBC was contacted for comment.