BBC Admits 'Regret' After Again Failing to Disclose British Colonel's Links to Israeli Defence Force
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On 13 June 2025, retired Colonel Richard Kemp appeared on BBC Radio's Stephen Nolan Show to discuss Israeli military strikes on Iran. Introduced simply as a former commander of British forces in Afghanistan and counter-terrorism expert, Kemp praised Israel's actions as "very successful" and speculated that the Iranian regime might collapse under the pressure of Israeli airpower.
What listeners were not told - again - is that Kemp is a director and trustee of UK Friends of the Association for the Wellbeing of Israel's Soldiers (UK-AWIS), a British charity that raises money to support the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF).
This omission by the BBC is all the more striking given that, just days earlier, the UK Charity Commission issued an official warning to UK-AWIS for serious regulatory failings, citing misconduct and mismanagement in the administration of the charity, after investigating the charity for using footage of the killing of Palestinians as a fund-raising tool.
Charity Commission Still Hasn't Concluded Investigation Into UK Charity One Year After Revelation It Raised Money for Israeli Soldiers Using Video of Killed Palestinians
The investigation was launched after Byline Times revealed the charity had potentially breached UK law
Iain Overton
The Commission's June 9 warning accuses UK-AWIS trustees - with the retired Colonel Kemp among them - of failing to exercise adequate oversight of the charity's digital content.
The breach involved a video, hosted on the charity's website and YouTube channel, which contained what the Charity Commission called a "distressing scene". This footage, first flagged in investigative reporting by Byline Times, appeared to show thermal imagery of Palestinian individuals being targeted by the Israeli military.
The concern was that a UK charity had used footage of Palestinians being killed by the IDF to raise money that then offered support for members of the IDF.
According to the Charity Commission, the trustees had outsourced editorial control of the website to a PR agency and a former executive director, and allowed third-party material to be uploaded without review. In so doing, the trustees had "failed to act in the charity's best interests" and "exposed the charity's reputation to unnecessary risk".
The Commission ordered UK-AWIS to review all its media content, implement a proper social media policy, and ensure trustees familiarise themselves with official guidance.
UK-AWIS's latest financial account show that the charity spent more than £53,000 on legal and professional fees in the year to 31 March 2024 - a large sum for a charity of its scale. The trustees attributed this expense to the Charity Commission's investigation into its fundraising materials.
EXCLUSIVE
UK Charity Under Investigation as Fundraising Videos for Israeli Military Appear to Feature Palestinians Being Killed
Iain Overton investigates a UKAWIS video which is a source of concern for the Charity Commission
Iain Overton
An "overseas consultant" - presumably from Israel - was also listed as being paid over £52,000 but is not named.
The accounts also refer to UK-AWIS adhering to social media guidelines provided by an unnamed "third party," possibly the IDF.
Meanwhile, the charity still does not maintain a public-facing website, despite raising more than £750,000 in donations that year.
That Kemp remains a public voice on matters relating to Israel and its wars, even after damning regulatory scrutiny, should raise serious questions for the BBC.
This is not the first time the broadcaster has failed to declare his links to UK-AWIS. In November 2023, following a Newsnight segment on Gaza, the BBC admitted it "should have made [Kemp's] connections with Israel clear."
On the Nolan Show, Kemp was once again presented as a supposed independent analyst. He confidently as...
Packed with exclusive investigations, analysis, and features…
SUBSCRIBE TODAY
On 13 June 2025, retired Colonel Richard Kemp appeared on BBC Radio's Stephen Nolan Show to discuss Israeli military strikes on Iran. Introduced simply as a former commander of British forces in Afghanistan and counter-terrorism expert, Kemp praised Israel's actions as "very successful" and speculated that the Iranian regime might collapse under the pressure of Israeli airpower.
What listeners were not told - again - is that Kemp is a director and trustee of UK Friends of the Association for the Wellbeing of Israel's Soldiers (UK-AWIS), a British charity that raises money to support the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF).
This omission by the BBC is all the more striking given that, just days earlier, the UK Charity Commission issued an official warning to UK-AWIS for serious regulatory failings, citing misconduct and mismanagement in the administration of the charity, after investigating the charity for using footage of the killing of Palestinians as a fund-raising tool.
Charity Commission Still Hasn't Concluded Investigation Into UK Charity One Year After Revelation It Raised Money for Israeli Soldiers Using Video of Killed Palestinians
The investigation was launched after Byline Times revealed the charity had potentially breached UK law
Iain Overton
The Commission's June 9 warning accuses UK-AWIS trustees - with the retired Colonel Kemp among them - of failing to exercise adequate oversight of the charity's digital content.
The breach involved a video, hosted on the charity's website and YouTube channel, which contained what the Charity Commission called a "distressing scene". This footage, first flagged in investigative reporting by Byline Times, appeared to show thermal imagery of Palestinian individuals being targeted by the Israeli military.
The concern was that a UK charity had used footage of Palestinians being killed by the IDF to raise money that then offered support for members of the IDF.
According to the Charity Commission, the trustees had outsourced editorial control of the website to a PR agency and a former executive director, and allowed third-party material to be uploaded without review. In so doing, the trustees had "failed to act in the charity's best interests" and "exposed the charity's reputation to unnecessary risk".
The Commission ordered UK-AWIS to review all its media content, implement a proper social media policy, and ensure trustees familiarise themselves with official guidance.
UK-AWIS's latest financial account show that the charity spent more than £53,000 on legal and professional fees in the year to 31 March 2024 - a large sum for a charity of its scale. The trustees attributed this expense to the Charity Commission's investigation into its fundraising materials.
EXCLUSIVE
UK Charity Under Investigation as Fundraising Videos for Israeli Military Appear to Feature Palestinians Being Killed
Iain Overton investigates a UKAWIS video which is a source of concern for the Charity Commission
Iain Overton
An "overseas consultant" - presumably from Israel - was also listed as being paid over £52,000 but is not named.
The accounts also refer to UK-AWIS adhering to social media guidelines provided by an unnamed "third party," possibly the IDF.
Meanwhile, the charity still does not maintain a public-facing website, despite raising more than £750,000 in donations that year.
That Kemp remains a public voice on matters relating to Israel and its wars, even after damning regulatory scrutiny, should raise serious questions for the BBC.
This is not the first time the broadcaster has failed to declare his links to UK-AWIS. In November 2023, following a Newsnight segment on Gaza, the BBC admitted it "should have made [Kemp's] connections with Israel clear."
On the Nolan Show, Kemp was once again presented as a supposed independent analyst. He confidently as...
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