The BBC has been accused of suppressing the Afghan nationality of murder suspect Sharif Ahmadzai after changing radio bulletins following his arrest in Athens. Greek police arrested 26-year-old Ahmadzai over the murder of Scottish Christian missionary Elisabeth-Jane Ross, 38, whose body was discovered inside a suitcase in an abandoned building.
A BBC radio news bulletin read by newsreader Clare Runacres on Radio 2, 5 Live and 6 Music at 3.30pm on Sunday initially identified the suspect as a "26-year-old Afghan man." Runacres told listeners: "Greek police say they've arrested a man in connection with the murder of a British woman whose body was found in a suitcase in Athens. They're questioning a 26-year-old Afghan man. The body of 38-year-old Elisabeth Ross was found in an abandoned building in the city last month."
However, in a second bulletin on Radio 2 just half an hour later, this had been changed. Runacres said: "Greek police investigating the murder of a 38-year-old Scottish woman found inside a suitcase have made an arrest. Elisabeth-Jane Ross' body was found in an abandoned building in Athens last month. Officials say they've arrested a 26-year-old foreign national in connection with her death."
The term "foreign national" was also used on 5 Live at the same time, while at 4.30pm on Radio 6 Music Ms Runacres informed listeners that Greek police were "questioning a 26-year-old foreign national."
Political Backlash and Campaigner Criticism
Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp told the Mail: "The BBC, funded by British licence fee payers, seemingly decided the public could not be trusted with that fact that this accused murderer was Afghani. Licence fee payers expect facts to be reported. The BBC should explain why 'foreign national' was judged safer for its listeners than the truth, and should commit now to reporting nationality plainly and consistently in future."
Reform UK chairman Lee Anderson said it was "typical" of the BBC, adding: "People are fed up with facts being watered down because they don't fit the narrative. The BBC should stop treating license-fee payers as idiots and start giving them their news straight."
Rebecca Ryan, campaign director at Defund The BBC, said the broadcaster is "more concerned with suppressing information that disrupts its preferred narrative than delivering full and transparent reporting." She added: "Licence fee payers are entitled to expect journalistic excellence, not carefully sanitised news shaped by the Corporation's political sensitivities. Every incident like this further erodes public trust and strengthens the case for ending a system that compels people to fund a broadcaster which too often denies them the full picture."
Broadcaster Defense and Verification Statement
The BBC denied the accusations and said its reporting was "briefly updated" while "further details were verified," adding that any suggestion it was done for any other reason is "false."
A BBC spokesman said: "Shortly after the 4.30pm bulletin, we confirmed the individual's nationality, and this has been reported across our extensive coverage of the story since. Any suggestion that we sought to withhold this individual's nationality from our reporting for any other reason is false."
Murder Investigation and Suspect Statements
The body of Ms Ross, a Christian volunteer from Edinburgh, was found in a suitcase in Athens on July 18, three days after she went missing. Ahmadzai, a boxer born in Afghanistan who arrived in Greece on a small boat before marrying an American Christian, was arrested last weekend over the Scot's death.
Ahmadzai appeared in court in Athens on Wednesday and is due to appear before a Greek prosecutor on Thursday when the charges will be formally put to him.
Greek news outlet Protothema reported that Ahmadzai told police in a statement that he did not kill the 38-year-old, claiming he found her dead. He claimed an "old man" convinced him to remove the body and blackmailed him.
