BBC accused of 'suppressing' nationality of Afghan small-boat migrant arrested over murder of British woman found in suitcase

By SAM MERRIMAN, POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT Published: 00:52, 6 August 2026 | Updated: 00:52, 6 August 2026 The BBC has been accused of attempting to 'suppress' the nationality of an Afghan small-boat migrant arrested over the murder of a British missionary. Sharif Ahmadzai, 26, is suspected of killing Elisabeth-Jane Ross, 38, before putting her body in a suitcase and dumping it in a derelict building. A BBC radio news bulletin aired shortly after Greek police announced an arrest had been made in the case referred to the suspect as a '26-year-old Afghan man'. But just half an hour later and in subsequent bulletins, listeners were instead told only that police in Athens had arrested a '26-year-old foreign national'. Critics have accused the BBC of 'suppressing' the suspect's Afghan nationality to fit the corporation's 'narrative'. Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp told the Mail: 'The BBC, funded by British licence fee payers, seemingly decided the public could not be trusted with that fact that this accused murderer was Afghani. 'Licence fee payers expect facts to be reported. The BBC should explain why 'foreign national' was judged safer for its listeners than the truth, and should commit now to reporting nationality plainly and consistently in future.' Reform UK chairman Lee Anderson said it was 'typical' of the BBC, adding: 'People are fed up with facts being watered down because they don't fit the narrative. Afghan boxer Sharif Ahmadzai - who arrived in Greece on a small boat before marrying an American Christian has been arrested. He told police in a statement that he did not kill the 38-year-old  Elisabeth-Jane Ross was found dead in Athens with her body stuffed in a suitcase 'The BBC should stop treating license-fee payers as idiots and start giving them their news straight.' But the BBC denied this and said its reporting was 'briefly updated' while 'further details were verified', adding that any suggestion it was done for any other reason is 'false'. The radio news bulletin was read on Sunday by Clare Runacres – a newsreader on BBC Radio 2, 5 Live and 6 Music – at 3.30pm, shortly after the arrest was first reported by British news agencies. She said: 'Greek police say they've arrested a man in connection with the murder of a British woman whose body was found in a suitcase in Athens. 'They're questioning a 26-year-old Afghan man. The body of 38-year-old Elisabeth Ross was found in an abandoned building in the city last month.' But in a second bulletin on Radio 2 just half an hour later, this had been changed. Ms Runacres said: 'Greek police investigating the murder of a 38-year-old Scottish woman found inside a suitcase have made an arrest. 'Elisabeth-Jane Ross' body was found in an abandoned building in Athens last month. Officials say they've arrested a 26-year-old foreign national in connection with her death.' The term 'foreign national' was also used on 5 Live at the same time, while at 4.30pm on Radio 6 Music Ms Runacres informed listeners that Greek police were 'questioning a 26-year-old foreign national'. Rebecca Ryan, campaign director at Defund The BBC, said the broadcaster is 'more concerned with suppressing information that disrupts its preferred narrative than delivering full and transparent reporting'. She added: 'Licence fee payers are entitled to expect journalistic excellence, not carefully sanitised news shaped by the Corporation's political sensitivities. 'Every incident like this further erodes public trust and strengthens the case for ending a system that compels people to fund a broadcaster which too often denies them the full picture.' But a BBC spokesman said its reporting had only been 'briefly updated' while 'further details were verified'. The spokesman added: 'Shortly after the 4.30pm bulletin, we confirmed the individual's nationality, and this has been reported across our extensive coverage of the story since. 'Any suggestion that we sought to withhold this individual's nationality from our reporting for any other reason is false.' The body of Ms Ross, a Christian volunteer from Edinburgh, was found in a suitcase in Athens on July 18, three days after she went missing. Ahmadzai was arrested last weekend over the Scot's death and he appeared in court in Athens on Wednesday. He is due to appear before a Greek prosecutor on Thursday when the charges will be formally put to him. Greek news outlet Protothema reported that Ahmadzai, a boxer who was born in Afghanistan, told police that he did not kill the 38-year-old, claiming he found her dead.