A BBC report has concluded that a documentary about the lives of children in Gaza breached editorial guidelines on accuracy.

The film was pulled from iPlayer in February after it emerged the 13-year-old narrator was the son of a Hamas official.

The review also found three members of the independent production company knew of the father's position, but no-one within the BBC knew this at the time.

It concludes that independent production company, Hoyo Films bears most of the responsibility, but that the BBC was not "sufficiently proactive" with initial editorial checks.

Reaction to the findings have poured in throughout the day, with BBC director general Tim Davie vowing to take action "to prevent such errors being repeated".

Meanwhile, Hoyo Films says it will "improve processes and prevent similar problems in the future".

Thank you for joining us, we are ending our live coverage of the report.

You can continue to read about this in our main news article

We earlier heard from Stewart Purvis, a former chief executive of ITN and former content regulator at Ofcom, on BBC Radio 4's World at One programme.

He says there are questions about what the independent production company told the BBC.

"When you drill down into the details, I can see at least two occasions where the BBC asked the production company questions where it would be reasonable to expect the company to have answered by saying, actually, the boy's father is the deputy minister of agriculture in Hamas," he says.

He says the report shows that BBC asked whether there was a "paper trail" that would raise concerns about the contributors, and it was told there social media activity was "clean". The BBC asked again whether the lead boy had links to Hamas, he adds.

"The BBC, clearly, according to Peter Johnston, did not pin down the answers to the questions it had asked," he says.

Gaza: How to Survive a Warzone was made by the independent company Hoyo Film and commissioned by the BBC.

Directed by Jamie Roberts and Yousef Hammash, the film follows the lives of young people living in an active warzone.

Israel does not allow international journalists to enter Gaza to report freely. To make this film, producers in London remotely directed cameramen in Gaza to film over the course of nine months.

The documentary is narrated by a 13-year-old boy, who takes viewers through the stories of four young people.

One of the core issues with the documentary stems from the boy’s family connections, as it later emerged that the film’s narrator is the son of a Hamas official.

Failure to disclose the father's position was found by a report today to be in breach of the BBC's editorial guidelines on accuracy.

The film was pulled from iPlayer in February.

You can watch an excerpt from the film below:

Turness goes on to say that she does not think there is a problem with the leadership at the BBC.

"We are accountable to the public," she says, adding that the BBC takes it's role seriously and "mistakes do happen".

She turns to a separate documentary on medics in Gaza which was pulled by the BBC before it was broadcast, due to impartiality concerns. Gaza: Doctors Under Attack was later aired by Channel 4.

"We want to tell the stories of Gaza. We are telling the stories of Gaza," she says.

She says during the production the BBC raised concerns about the social media activity of one of the journalists involved.

"In light of those concerns we decided to pause broadcast of that documentary while we were waiting to see what the Peter Johnston report would bring us," Turness explains.

She goes on to explain that the lead journalist on the project, Ramita Navai, appeared on Radio 4's Today and used "language" around Israel that "wasn't compatible with the BBC's standards of impartiality".

"It made it impossible for us to continue with the project," Turness says. "No BBC journalist could have said what that journalist said on air."

Turness is next asked whether she had raised questions about the documentary when she watched it before its public broadcast.

She says she was at a press screening, adding: "But I didn't know then what I know now. The BBC team didn't know then what they know now."

Turness says a new role dedicated to leading long-form journalism documentaries and current affairs on the news board is being created.

"We need more dedicated senior leadership overseeing this area of our activity," she says.

Turness acknowledges the breach of the BBC's editorial guidelines on accuracy, and says that there will now be fair and appropriate processes in place.

Asked whether someone might lose job their job following the report's publication, Turness says the process must "roll through" and take place, adding it's an independent process.

It's put to her that Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy earlier asked the BBC why no-one had been fired.

"I just think it's not right and not appropriate for me to pre-judge and pre-determine a process that needs to have its time," she says.

Turness starts by saying the "theme that's been running through the conversation" in the BBC Radio 4 studio is "accountability".

The BBC has "taken this incredibly seriously", she says. "We've led a full and thorough investigation," she says, adding the BBC will share an action plan that it has put into place "to prevent this kind of mistake happening again".

"We've said we're sorry, and I am sorry," she adds.

"At BBC News, we are fully accountable," Turness says. "And we didn't run those questions to ground."

No-one in the BBC knew the narrator's father was a Hamas official, the report found. Should they have known?

"Yes, they should have known because their questions should have been answered at the many times of asking" by the production company, she says. But Turness agrees that when they were not answered, they should have been pursued.

She says the BBC "should have investigated more".

She says new systems and processes have been put in place to "enable us to be even more diligent".

We're about to hear from Deborah Turness, chief executive of BBC News and Current Affairs, who is about to be quizzed on BBC Radio 4's World At One programme about the report.

We'll bring you the key lines here, and you can follow along by clicking watch live at the top of the page.

Over the last hour or so, we've been picking through the 30-page report into the documentary. Here are the key takeaways:

• Failure to disclose the narrator's father's position in Hamas "was a breach of the BBC’s Editorial Guidelines, and specifically a breach of Guideline 3.3.17 on Accuracy, which deals with misleading audiences"
• This is the only breach of the BBC's editorial guidelines found by the report

• Three members of the production company, Hoyo Films, knew of the father's position at the time the programme was first broadcast, but not anyone within the BBC
• In light of Hoyo Films not bringing this to the BBC's attention, the production company is "the party with most responsibility for this failure"
• However, Hoyo Films has not "intentionally misled" the BBC, and it has been "consistently transparent" that it made a mistake and should have made the corporation aware, despite believing the father's role was a "civilian or technocratic one, as opposed to a political or military position in Hamas"
• The BBC also bears "some responsibility" for "not being sufficiently proactive" in the early stages of the project, and for a "lack of critical oversight of unanswered or partially answered questions"
• There is no evidence that the narrator's father or family "influenced the content of the programme in any way"
• The narrator's adult sister was paid a £795 "disturbance fee" - an amount that was not "outside the range of what might be reasonable"

As we've been reporting, the BBC has released a report into a film about children's lives in Gaza. Here's a look back at the key lines from the review and the latest reaction:

• Gaza: How to Survive a Warzone breached the BBC's editorial guidelines on accuracy over the failure to disclose that the narrator was the son of a Hamas official, the report has found
• It also said that the independent production company that made the film for the BBC, Hoyo Films, bears most of the responsibility for the failure
• It added that the BBC was not "sufficiently proactive" with initial editorial checks, however
• BBC director general Tim Davie said the corporation will take action to "ensure proper accountability and the immediate implementation of steps to prevent such errors being repeated"
• Hoyo Films said it takes the findings of the report "extremely seriously" and will "improve processes and prevent similar problems"
• Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy said the BBC has made "big strides" to reset its relationship with the public after a "series of catastrophic failures"

Is this report enough to satisfy critics on all sides?published at 12:46 British Summer Time

12:46 BST

Katie Razzall
Culture editor

Ever since its broadcast, and the furore that followed, it’s been difficult to understand how a programme that the BBC classified as a "high risk project" that carried "reputational risk" and which it put on a select list for programmes that need more scrutiny and support could ever have been put out without the child narrator’s family link to Hamas being known.

This report is an answer - but is it enough to satisfy the critics on all sides?

Lisa Nandy’s reaction is... perhaps.

The culture secretary seems to be rowing back from her direct criticism of the BBC’s director general.

She’s calling what’s happened at the BBC “a series of catastrophic failures” but says she has received an action plan from BBC leadership to address issues of accountability.

We can bring you more now from Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy.

Asked if she still has faith in BBC director general Tim Davie, Nandy says “it’s not for the government to say who should and shouldn’t work at the BBC”.

Nandy, who previously asked why nobody at the BBC has been sacked over the Gaza documentary, says she raised this question because she wants to see "proper accountability".

She says the BBC board has presented her with an "action plan that is aimed addressing the reasons why some of these failures happened" and ensuring they don't happen again.

"Accountability and action" has been "too slow in coming", which the BBC leadership has recognised, she adds. But it now "appears to be happening" and she hopes new measures will "restore public confidence in the BBC".

Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy says the BBC has made "big strides" to reset its relationship with the public after a "series of catastrophic failures in recent weeks".

Asked about the report into the Gaza documentary, Nandy tells reporters she's "pleased that there has been an acknowledgement about what a catastrophic failure this has been” and adds that the corporation has put "rapid measures to restore public confidence" in place in response.

"I'm pleased there has been progress but, as the BBC itself has recognised, there is more to be done," she adds.

We can now bring you a statement from the production company that made the Gaza documentary for the BBC.

Hoyo Films says: "We take the findings in Peter Johnston's report on Gaza: How To Survive A Warzone extremely seriously and apologise for the mistake that resulted in a breach of the (BBC) editorial guidelines.

"We are pleased that the report found that there was no evidence of inappropriate influence on the content of the documentary from any third party.

"We appreciate the rigorous nature of this investigation, and its findings that Hoyo Films did not intentionally mislead the BBC, that there were no other breaches of the editorial guidelines in the programme, and that there was no evidence to suggest that the programme funds were spent other than for reasonable, production-related purposes.

"Hoyo Films welcomes the report's recommendations and hope they will improve processes and prevent similar problems in the future. We are working closely with the BBC to see if we can find an appropriate way to bring back to iPlayer the stories of those featured in the programme.

"Our team in Gaza risked their lives to document the devastating impact of war on children. Gaza: How To Survive A Warzone remains a vital account, and our contributors, who have no say in the conflict, deserve to have their voices heard."

As we've been reporting, the review found that the independent production company bears most of the responsibility for the failure. However, it says the BBC also bears some responsibility.

Image source, Reuters

We now have a response from BBC director general Tim Davie.

"Peter Johnston's report identifies a significant failing in relation to accuracy in this documentary," he says.

"I thank him for his thorough work and I am sorry for this failing.

"We will now take action on two fronts - fair, clear and appropriate actions to ensure proper accountability and the immediate implementation of steps to prevent such errors being repeated."

The BBC Board adds: "We thank Peter Johnston for his work. His report is a comprehensive examination of a complex programme, the production of which spanned many months from concept through to broadcast - and is critical in laying bare the facts of what happened.

"Nothing is more important than trust and transparency in our journalism. We welcome the actions the executive are taking to avoid this failing being repeated in the future."

Steven McIntosh
Culture reporter

The review said it had seen no evidence "to support the suggestion that the narrator's father or family influenced the content of the programme in any way".

It added the narrator's scripted contribution to the programme did not constitute a breach of due impartiality.

The report concluded that the use of the child narrator for this programme, while not a breach of editorial guidelines, was "not appropriate".

A financial examination found that a fee of £795 was paid for the narrator, paid to his adult sister, an amount which was not "outside the range of what might be reasonable in the context".

Hoyo Films said it would explore the possibility of using some material for re-edited and re-versioned shorter films for archive on iPlayer.

Steven McIntosh
Culture reporter

A BBC documentary about Gaza breached editorial guidelines on accuracy by failing to disclose the narrator was the son of a Hamas official, the corporation's review has found.

The review found that the independent production company, Hoyo Films, bears most of the responsibility for the failure. However, it said the BBC also bears some responsibility.

The BBC said it was taking appropriate action to review accountability, but did not name any individuals facing disciplinary action.

The review found three members of the independent production company knew of the father's position, but no-one within the BBC knew this at the time.

However, the report criticised the BBC team for not being "sufficiently proactive" with initial editorial checks, and for a "lack of critical oversight of unanswered or partially answered questions.

Image source, PA Media

In March of this year, the BBC’s director general was called before the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee to discuss the documentary about children’s lives in Gaza.

He told MPs that he made the “very difficult decision” to remove it from iPlayer after he “lost trust” in the film, after concerns were raised about the 13-year-old narrator’s family connections to Hamas - a proscribed terrorist group in the UK.

Davie said at the time that the BBC had received about 500 complaints that the film was biased against Israel and another 1,800 over its removal from iPlayer.

But he told MPs: "If you're asked a number of times [about the boy's family] and that question was not answered [by Hoyo Films]... that is basics.

"And at the end of the day, as editor in chief, I have to be secure, not only editorially where the film was at, but the making of that film.”

"There was absolutely legitimate journalism to be done,” he said, before remarking that “that’s what makes it frankly frustrating where we are".

The BBC is due to release a report over its decision to air and then pull a documentary about children's lives in Gaza. The film was removed from iPlayer after it emerged its 13-year-old narrator was the son of a Hamas official.

In February, the corporation apologised after an interim report identified "serious flaws" in the making of Gaza: How to Survive a War Zone, made by the independent production company Hoyo Films for the BBC.

The review is being headed by Peter Johnston, the BBC's director of editorial complaints and reviews, which is independent of BBC News and reports directly to director general Tim Davie.

It is expected to determine whether any editorial guidelines were broken and if any disciplinary action is needed.

We're expecting the review to land shortly - we'll break the key lines as we get them. Stay with us.