Zia Yusuf calls Alastair Campbell a war criminal on Question Time
GB News highlighted a BBC Question Time exchange in which Zia Yusuf called Alastair Campbell a war criminal over the Iraq weapons dossier.
How it was covered
- GB News was the only channel found covering it, concentrating on praising Zia Yusuf's attack on Alastair Campbell over Iraq.
- Channel 5, BBC News, BBC One, Channel 4, ITV and Sky News: not found in tracked broadcasts.
The Full Story
A plain summary built from the channels that reported this story. Facts only one channel reported are attributed to it.
GB News's The Saturday Five Extra aired a clip from BBC Question Time in which Zia Yusuf accused Alastair Campbell of deceiving the British people over Iraq. Yusuf said Campbell had presented a dossier claiming Saddam Hussein could launch weapons of mass destruction within 45 minutes, and that no such weapons were found. He told Campbell: "You deceived the British people."
In the clip, Yusuf said Campbell would be more aptly described as a war criminal than a national treasure. He then addressed Campbell directly as a war criminal. The GB News panel praised the exchange, with one host calling it "absolutely brilliant" and saying Campbell had been left "stuck for words".
The panel also criticised Campbell and Tony Blair, saying they took the country to war on a lie. It accused Campbell of helping to invent political spin and dishonesty, and questioned why people still listen to his podcast.
Key Claims
Claims reported during this story's coverage, grouped by how many channels reported each one. Select a dot to see the source excerpt.
| Claim |  |
|---|---|
| Only on one channel | |
| The GB News panel accused Alastair Campbell and Tony Blair of taking the country to war on a false premise. | |
| Zia Yusuf described Alastair Campbell as a war criminal. | |
| Zia Yusuf said Alastair Campbell had presented a dossier claiming Saddam Hussein could launch weapons of mass destruction within 45 minutes. | |
Channel Perspectives
What each channel focused on, with key quotes.
GB News devoted its highlight segment to praising Zia Yusuf's attack on Alastair Campbell over Iraq. The programme framed the exchange as a decisive put-down, said Campbell was stuck for words, and used it to criticise Campbell's record and podcast. It did not include wider context or a response from Campbell beyond the clip.
- “they would more aptly describe you as a war criminal”
- “It's absolutely brilliant.”
- “they took us to war on a lie”
Who was on air
People and organisations each channel put on air while covering this story. Channels' own presenters and reporters are not listed. Names as transcribed, and the list can miss people.
- 20:46 GMT
Zia Yusuf, Reformed CEO
The Saturday Five Extra · Sat 31 Oct
Broadcast Timeline
News broadcasts tracked for this story, in time order.