The BBC won a High Court ruling keeping the Balen report under wraps.
In 2004, Malcolm Balen, for whom the report is named, exhaustively examined the BBC’s radio and TV coverage of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. His report was never released to the public; however, Steven Sugar, a London lawyer, filed a Freedom of Information request. When the BBC refused, Sugar appealed to the Information Tribunal, which adjudicates FOI disputes. The tribunal ruled in Sugar’s favor, leading to a flood of FOI requests for the Balen Report (including one from HonestReporting).
According to the UK Press Gazette, the BBC has rejected 400 other FOI requests over an unspecified period of time.
The BBC is funded by a license fee and the public deserves to know what’s contained in the report.
