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LONDON: Acclaimed TV director Peter Kosminsky has accused UK Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy of attempting to “bully” the BBC over its coverage of the Gaza conflict.

In a strongly worded letter, Kosminsky — known for the BBC historical drama “Wolf Hall” — likened the government’s actions to those of a “tinpot dictatorship” and warned against sustained pressure on BBC Director General Tim Davie.

“Could I respectfully suggest that you stop trying to bully the BBC, the nation’s primary public service broadcaster, over its coverage of the war in Gaza,” wrote Kosminsky in the letter, reported by The Guardian.

He argued that politicians should not “police the individual editorial decisions of the BBC,” stressing the broadcaster must, above all, maintain public trust. His letter echoed warnings from veteran BBC figure Richard Ayre, who described Nandy’s direct intervention as “outrageous.”

Nandy has been a vocal critic of the BBC, pressuring the broadcaster to withdraw its Gaza documentary “How To Survive a Warzone” after it emerged the young narrator was the son of a Hamas official. She also criticized the broadcasting of a Glastonbury Festival segment featuring the punk-rap duo Bob Vylan chanting anti-IDF slogans.

“For its part, the BBC must ensure that its output is balanced. But this means balanced across the totality of its output,” said Kosminsky, cautioning that past conflicts between government and BBC had ended tragically and citing the death of weapons expert Dr David Kelly in 2003.

Meanwhile, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport has acknowledged recent “serious failures” at the BBC but framed Nandy’s criticism as justified accountability on behalf of license-fee payers. A spokesperson reiterated that editorial independence remained paramount.

The controversy comes amid crucial discussions over the BBC’s future funding and charter renewal, adding further pressure on its leadership — particularly Davie, who faces mounting scrutiny and internal dissatisfaction over perceived lapses in impartiality and editorial oversight.

BEIRUT: Human Rights Watch on Wednesday condemned Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels for deadly attacks that sank two commercial vessels this month, calling them violations of the laws of war.

The Houthis struck the Magic Seas and Eternity C cargo ships in the Red Sea, part of a campaign against maritime traffic they accuse of having links to Israel, launched over the Gaza war.

Fifteen people — including four confirmed dead — remain missing after the July 7 attack on the Eternity C.

The Yemeni rebels claimed to have “rescued” an unspecified number of crew, whose whereabouts are still unknown.

The attacks were “violations of the laws of war amounting to war crimes,” Human Rights Watch said in a statement, adding it found “no evidence that the ships were military targets.”

“They deliberately attacked commercial vessels that could clearly be identified as civilian,” the New York-based group said, adding that “detaining rescued crew members is also prohibited.”

Rebel leader Abdel Malek Al-Houthi justified the attacks, saying both ships belonged to companies serving Israeli ports.

But HRW said the ships had no connection to Israel and were not heading there.

The Magic Seas was en route to Turkiye from China carrying fertilizer and steel billets when it was attacked on July 6.

The Eternity C was heading to Saudi Arabia from Somalia after delivering humanitarian aid for the United Nations World Food Programme.

“The Houthis have sought to justify unlawful attacks by pointing to Israeli violations against Palestinians,” said Niku Jafarnia, HRW’s Yemen and Bahrain researcher.

“The Houthis should end all attacks on ships not taking part in the conflict and immediately release the crew members in their custody,” she added.

Since November 2023, the rebels have carried out more than 100 attacks on vessels in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, according to the Joint Maritime Information Center, run by a Western naval coalition.

HRW said it had previously found those actions to be war crimes.

It also warned of environmental risks, citing findings by Wim Zwijnenburg of Dutch peace organization PAX.

Zwijnenburg said satellite imagery showed large oil slicks trailing from the sites where both vessels sank, threatening wildlife in a protected nature reserve off Eritrea’s coast.

Oil was also reportedly washing ashore near a fishing community, he was quoted as saying.