A government linked emergency planning platform, “Resilience Direct”,  prominently features a continuous Al Jazeera news feed, spreading anti-Israel and anti-Western propaganda to all users of the service.

Resilience Direct is a secure national platform run and funded by the Cabinet Office, which is used by emergency responders, local authorities, police forces and other public agencies for crisis preparedness and emergency management.

UK Lawyers for Israel (UKLFI) has submitted a complaint to the Cabinet Office about the West Midlands Local Resilience Forum, where the Al Jazeera news is displayed.  It is operated by West Midlands Police, who faced previous criticism in respect of their decision to ban Maccabi Tel Aviv football fans from an Aston Villa football match, based on flawed intelligence.  The latest controversy risks further damaging confidence among the Jewish community.

In a letter sent to Cat Little CB, Permanent Secretary of the Cabinet Office, UKLFI alleges that the inclusion of Al Jazeera news in a constant ticker tape on screen, as well as in a “Media Wall” on the Resilience Direct platform, constitutes a misuse of a government emergency coordination service.

UKLFI pointed out that the platform should be used solely for operational coordination and information sharing related to emergencies, not for disseminating politically charged international news content.

The complaint cites screenshots from the West Midlands Resilience Forum page showing rolling Al Jazeera headlines concerning Israel and the Middle East, including stories referring to alleged Israeli war crimes and Israeli military activity. UKLFI pointed out that the news feed amounted to “a stream of anti-Israel propaganda” being broadcast to members of the emergency planning community.

UKLFI also raised concerns over the appropriateness of Al Jazeera as a source on a UK government-related platform, noting that the broadcaster is funded by the Qatari state and has faced restrictions or bans in several countries, including the USA, Israel and the Palestinian Authority.

UKLFI also pointed out that transmitting the anti-Israel news feed was likely to breach the Civil Service Code as the news feed was not impartial and appeared to be a misuse of public resources.

A spokesperson for UK Lawyers for Israel, commented: “The Resilience Direct platform exists to support emergency preparedness and coordination, not to promote politically loaded international news coverage. Public confidence in these services depends on their neutrality and professionalism.”

UKLFI has asked the Cabinet Office to remove the Al Jazeera feed from the West Midlands LRF page, to issue guidance to Local Resilience Forums on the publication of non-operational content, and to investigate who was responsible for authorising the feed.