City Hall is accused of 'turning a blind eye' after BBC presenter embroiled in anti-Semitism row is picked to host youth awards event

By OLIVIA ALLHUSEN, FOREIGN NEWS REPORTER Published: 19:50, 18 May 2026 | Updated: 19:53, 18 May 2026 City Hall has been accused of 'turning a blind eye' after a BBC presenter embroiled in an anti-Semitism row was appointed to host a London youth awards event. A source involved with the London Youth Assembly claimed organisers behind the London Youth Achievement Awards used 'very stringent' vetting processes over politically sensitive comments made by those involved in the event. But the source questioned why Eddie Nestor had allegedly been approved to host this year's ceremony despite apologising for remarks branded anti-Semitic during the 2024 mayoral elections. The source claimed City Hall and London Assembly officials had raised concerns over comments made by another presenter linked to the awards because of the 'political sensitivity'. Speaking to the Daily Mail, the source said: 'If City Hall is such stringent vetting processes, why is this something that they did not pick up on which I doubt.' The source added: 'There's definitely not an oversight. They've chosen to turn a blind eye.' The London Youth Achievement Awards were launched to recognise young people aged between 11 and 18 who have 'done phenomenal things', according to the source. The insider claimed Jewish attendees and participants could feel uncomfortable at the event given current sensitivities around anti-Semitism. 'At a time when there is such political sensitivity [around] anti-semitism, City Hall shouldn't have overlooked this,' the source said. The source questioned why Eddie Nestor pictured) had allegedly been approved to host this year's ceremony despite apologising for remarks branded anti-Semitic during the 2024 mayoral elections The source claimed City Hall and London Assembly officials had raised concerns over comments made by another presenter linked to the awards because of the 'political sensitivity'. Pictured: City Hall The source added: 'You can only imagine how very uncomfortable it must be for an event that is supposed to recognise young people.' The source went on to say: 'I might even say it's antisemitic attitudes within the organisation.' During a discussion on BBC Radio London about mayoral hustings at JW3 last month, Nestor spoke about the 'Jewish lobby' and Jewish 'power'. The BBC later apologised for the comments, which community leaders labelled 'age old anti-Jewish tropes'. During the interview, Nestor said: 'The only time all four of you apart from that debate last night were together was for the Jewish lobby. 'Why is that lobby is so much more powerful than people with disabilities, why is it so much more powerful than people who are worried about the safety of women and girls, the aged voter?' The inaugural London Youth Achievement Awards was established by former chair of the London Youth Assembly, Ashan Khehra, in 2025. A City Hall spokesperson said: 'The London Assembly has a long history of condemning all forms of racism and discrimination, including antisemitism.  'It has agreed unanimous motions on the issue in 2021, 2022, 2024 and condemned the recent antisemitic attacks in Golders Green. 'The London Youth Achievement Awards celebrate the work young Londoners do to make their communities a better place and are a wonderful celebration of the achievements these young people have worked so hard for. 'Eddie Nestor has hosted a non-political London radio programme for over 20 years, covering the stories that matter most to all of London’s communities. 'The BBC and Eddie Nestor apologised for the phrasing of a question asked in the course of a Mayoral hustings programme in 2024. 'Mr Nestor has consistently used his media platform to highlight the impact of and the need to tackle all forms of racism and discrimination, through recent debates on his BBC Radio London programme.' No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.