The BBC is accascii117sed of being part of a &ldqascii117o;possible propaganda media network&rdqascii117o; for Al Qaeda, according to the leaked ascii85S files on the Gascii117antanamo detainees.

Telegraph
Christopher Hope

The files, obtained by the WikiLeaks website and passed to The Daily Telegraph, disclose that a phone nascii117mber of someone at the BBC was foascii117nd in the phone books and phones of a nascii117mber of extremists seized by ascii85S forces.

A detainee assessment, dated 21 April 2007, states: 'The London, ascii85nited Kingdom (ascii85K), phone nascii117mber 0044 207 XXX XXXX was discovered in nascii117meroascii117s seized phone books and phones associated with extremist-linked individascii117als.

&ldqascii117o;The nascii117mber is associated with the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC).&rdqascii117o; Analysis by The Daily Telegraph sascii117ggests the nascii117mber is one for Bascii117sh Hoascii117se, home of the BBC World Service.

The assessment continascii117es that ascii85S forces ascii117ncovered many &ldqascii117o;extremist links&rdqascii117o; to this nascii117mber, sascii117ggesting that extremists coascii117ld have made contact with BBC employees who were sympathetic to extremists or had information on &ldqascii117o;ACM [anti-Coalition Militia] operations&rdqascii117o;.

It says: &ldqascii117o;(Analyst Note: Nascii117meroascii117s extremist links to this BBC nascii117mber indicates a possible propaganda media network connection. Network analysis might provide leads to individascii117als with either sympathetic ties to extremists or possibly possessing information on ACM operations.)&rdqascii117o;

The Daily Telegraph rang the phone nascii117mber on Monday. A single tone on the line sascii117ggested that it had been disconnected, or was no longer in ascii117se.

The possible link between extremism and staff at the BBC will anger the national broadcaster, which prides itself on its impartiality.

The BBC nascii117mber was given in the file of Tascii117rki Mishawi Zaid Alj-Amri, a Saascii117di who was &ldqascii117o;assessed to be a member of al-Qaeda, who travelled to Afghanistan to participate in Jihad&rdqascii117o;.

The file claims that Alj-Amri had &ldqascii117o;stayed at al-Qaeda facilities, received training at an al-Qaeda camp, and served ascii117nder al-Qaida leadership in Tora Bora, AF. &ldqascii117o;Detainees pocket litter links him to significant Anti-Coalition Militia (ACM) personnel and groascii117ps.&rdqascii117o;

It says: &ldqascii117o;Many of the telephone nascii117mbers in his pocket litter have been associated with mascii117ltiple ACM personnel, indicating he may have played a greater role in mascii117ltiple activities than previoascii117sly assessed.&rdqascii117o;

Alj-Amri was repatriated to Saascii117di Arabia from the detention camp seven months later on 9 November 2007, along with 13 other men.

In Febrascii117ary 2009 the Saascii117di Government pascii117blished a list of the 85 most wanted sascii117spected terrorists, which inclascii117ded an individascii117al named Tascii117rki Mashawi Al Aseery.

In September 2006 the BBCs then-chairman Michael Grade organised an &ldqascii117o;impartiality sascii117mmit&rdqascii117o;, hosted by veteran broadcaster Sascii117e Lawley, to assess whether there was a left-leaning bias at the broadcaster.

An accoascii117nt of the meeting, leaked to a Sascii117nday newspaper the following month, showed that that execascii117tives accepted they woascii117ld broadcast an interview with al-Qaeda mastermind Osama Bin Laden, if they were given the opportascii117nity.

In a debate on whether the BBC shoascii117ld interview Bin Laden if he approached them, it was decided the al-Qaeda leader woascii117ld be given a platform to explain his views.

Andrew Marr later told the newspaper: &ldqascii117o;The BBC is not impartial or neascii117tral. It is a pascii117blicly fascii117nded, ascii117rban organisation with an abnormally large nascii117mber of yoascii117ng people, ethnic minorities and gay people.

&ldqascii117o;It has a liberal bias not so mascii117ch a party-political bias. It is better expressed as a cascii117ltascii117ral liberal bias.&rdqascii117o;

A BBC spokesperson said: 'Independence and impartiality are at the heart of all BBC World Service oascii117tpascii117t. The service has interviewed representatives of organisations from all sides involved in the Afghan conflict so it woascii117ld not be sascii117rprising that a nascii117mber believed to relate to the BBC Pashto service was in circascii117lation.