Criticism of the BBC Gaza dispute in a "balanced, objective way", and was concerned about endorsing something that could "suggest the backing one side". Politicians such as Tony Benn broke the corporation's ban on the appeal and broadcast the Gaza appeal on BBC News, saying that "If the BBC won't broadcast the appeal, then I'm going to do it myself", and adding that "no one [working for the broadcaster] agrees with what the BBC has done". Mohamed ElBaradei, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, protested the BBC's decision by cancelling interviews scheduled with the company; ElBaradei claimed the refusal to air the aid
Radio 4 Appeal the appeals raised £1,433,154.02 for 52 charities. Just over half of this, £725,000, was for the annual Christmas appeal, broadcast on 2 Dec 2007. Amounts raised for other charities in that year ranged from £1,366.00 (Jenni Murray appealing for BEAT (Eating Disorders Association) on 24 Feb 2008) to £53,988.00 (Krishnan Guru-Murthy appealing for Homeless International on 3 March 2007, one week later). An earlier programme based on the same principle was "The Week's Good Cause", which ran from 1926 (from 1939 in the BBC Home Service) until controller James Boyle's major reforms to Radio 4 in 1998. Radio 4 Appeal