BBC outrage as presenter posts image of Rishi Sunak with Hitler moustache

A BBC sports pundit has been forced into an apology after sharing an image of Rishi Sunak and Joe Biden, alongside other world leaders, with Hitler moustaches.

Ex-Scotland international cricketer Qasim Sheikh posted the picture of the PM and co under the caption “Kids Killers Union”.

The post saw Mr Sunak, the US president, the Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, and European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen.

The 39-year-old cricket pundit shared the image in January, on top of other inflammatory statements that appeared to justify the October 7 terror attacks on Israel.

Some of those statements read: “Many innocent Palestinians have just lost their lives in a hospital bombing. To make it even worse the oppressor Israel has tried to blame someone else for the bombing.”

Israel denied responsibility for the explosion that killed hundreds of Palestinians ten days after the October 7 attacks, instead insisting that it was the result of a misfiring Hamas rocket.

The former Scotland batsman, born in Glasgow to Pakistani parents, branded the Tory and Labour leaders “genocide enablers”.

In a post, he said: “The UK/US instantly stand with Israel today, although have stayed quiet for years on the atrocities committed by Israel over Palestine. Claiming Palestine has no justification to attack, don't they have a right to defend themselves.”

His remarks come with Sheikh set to get behind the mic, providing commentary for the BBC during the T20 World Cup in the USA and the West Indies.

He is expected to be on-air during Scotland’s opening game with England on Tuesday.

Orly Goldschmidt, an Israeli embassy spokesman, told The Times: “We condemn all antisemitic acts and remarks. We expect the BBC to uphold its stated editorial values and standards, and believe such standards should be applied wherever such antisemitic rhetoric occurs within the organisation.”

In 2022, Sheikh and fellow former cricketer Majid Haq, another former Scotland cricketer, shared their experiences of racism within the sport with an inquiry finding 448 indicators of institutional racism.

In total, the allegations were directed at 15 people, two clubs and a regional association. The allegations included racial abuse, the use of inappropriate language and a lack of transparency in the selection process for non-white players.

The BBC pundit said that he did not condone the attacks carried out by Hamas terrorists against Israel and apologised for any offence caused by his messages.

He went on to say that he would never support any loss of life and dubbed the October 7 massacre as morally reprehensible but said he would continue to call for a ceasefire.

Mr Sheikh told the Express: "If my messages have caused people to think I am supporting the attacks of October 7th, then that would not sit well with me, and I apologise for any offence this has caused. I would never seek to support any loss of innocent lives. That was not my intention.

"I welcome the opportunity to clearly state my views. I have been clear from the outset that the killing of innocent lives is wrong. There is no way I would support what happened on October the 7th as acceptable, it was morally reprehensible. As is the ongoing situation in Gaza where many innocent lives continue to be lost - many of which are women and children. I will continue to call for a stop on the killing of innocent civilians, my message is clear for a ceasefire and a stop to all conflict."