- Tuesday, April 30, 2024
By: Keerthi Mohan
The BBC has reportedly told minority staff members and presenters to refrain from joining in any protest supporting Naga Munchetty.
Quoting broadcaster and former chairman of the Equality and Human Rights Commission Trevor Phillips, The Sunday Times reported that the BBC has asked staff not to sign any petition supporting the presenter.
This comes after a petition that called on the BBC to reverse its judgement on Munchetty attracted more than 13,000 signatures.
“BBC minority staff are being told not to sign the letter or any petition and to stay clear of this one,” Phillips told The Sunday Times.
Such warnings, Phillips said, could breach the 2010 Equality Act and staff could have a claim for harassment.
“The first thing the director-general has to do is tell managers to back off,” Phillips told the paper.
The controversy erupted after the BBC ruled last week that Munchetty crossed a line when she commented on the statement issued by Trump targeting politicians Ilhan Omar, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Rashida Tlaib and Ayanna Pressley.
Munchetty had told her co-presenter Dan Walker: “Every time I have been told, as a woman of colour, to go back to where I came from, that was embedded in racism.”
She said: “I’m not accusing anyone of anything here, but you know what certain phrases mean.”
Reprimanding Munchetty, the BBC said “overall her comments went beyond what the guidelines allow for.”
A BBC spokeswoman said: “The BBC is fully committed to complying with the Equality Act, and we’re not aware of any failure to do so.
“We know there has been a lot of debate on the issues raised last week, but the statement from the executive team on Friday is clear, the BBC is not impartial on racism.
“Racism is not an opinion and it is not a matter for debate. Racism is racism.
“Naga has the very clear support of the top of the organisation.”
