Why was it necessary to show a soldier in the Palestinian/Israeli battle being shot to the ground and his body dragged away during the Channel 4 news at 7.15pm? This is well before the watershed and our youngest is who only 2 years old could have seen this. Real-life violence such as this should be censored in the same was as violence in "drama" programmes. I would appreciate an answer from the producer of this programme as I do not feel that this is appropriate content which could be viewed by minors. I would like to add that this is not the only example I have seen of this type of pre-watershed sex/violence and feel that as a parent it is my duty to speak out.

I am sorry that you were offended by the scenes of a gun battle on Channel 4 News in which a Palestinian man was shot, and can understand that such scenes could be upsetting to young children. On Channel 4 News we aim to strike a balance between the need to report accurately on disturbing events without sanitising them, and the requirements of the Independent Television Commission's Family Viewing Policy. Having reviewed the pictures I believe it was right to show them, but I do accept that we should have presented the pictures with an appropriate warning.

Peter Barron
Deputy Editor, Channel 4 News