BBC Breakfast presenter Naga Munchetty has been rebuked by the Corporation for speaking out against Donald Trump.
Munchetty, who is of Indian and Mauritian heritage, spoke out against Trump in July after the US President instructed Democratic congresswomen to “go back” to their “crime infested” countries in a series of tweets.
Responding to questions from co-presenter Dan Walker on the programme, Munchetty said: “Every time I’ve been told as a woman of colour to ‘go home’, to ‘go back to where I’ve come from’, that was embedded in racism.”
The presenter received support for her comments online, including from Guardian columnist Marina Hyde, who described it as a “powerful off-script moment”.
The BBC’s Executive Complaints Unit launched an investigation after a viewer said the remarks were biased against President Trump and the complaint was partially upheld.
The Complaints Unit decided that Munchetty had been entitled to give a personal response to Trump’s tweets but that her comments had gone beyond what is permitted by the BBC’s guidelines, because she had criticised the US President. You can watch the video showing Munchetty’s comments below.
The BBC is due to publish a summary of its findings in the next few weeks. BBC Breakfast is filmed at MediaCityUK in Manchester.
