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Danny Baker accuses BBC of ‘throwing him under bus’ after being fired for racist royal baby tweet

The former 5 Live presenter described the call to fire him as 'a masterclass of pompous faux-gravity'

Jacob Stolworthy
Thursday 09 May 2019 12:01 BST
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Danny Baker insists he didn't realise the connotations of a tweet which got him sacked: 'Nobody invites this onto themselves'

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Radio host Danny Baker has accused the BBC of 'throwing him under the bus" after being fired for a controversial tweet about the royal baby.

The 5 Live presenter, 61, was accused of racism after seemingly mocking Meghan Markle’s heritage in a now deleted post that featured an image of two people holding hands with a small monkey dressed in a suit.

He posted it, moments after the Duke and Duchess of Sussex revealed their son, with the caption: “Royal baby leaves hospital.”

The broadcaster, who called the tweet an "idiotic" mistake, has insisted he's not racist in an interview with Sky News

But spokesperson for the BBC said: "This was a serious error of judgment and goes against the values we as a station aim to embody. Danny’s a brilliant broadcaster but will no longer be presenting a weekly show with us.”

Responding to the channel's decision, Baker described ”the call to fire” him as “a masterclass of pompous faux-gravity.”

He said that bosses "took a tone that said [he] actually meant that ridiculous tweet," adding: "[they] literally threw me under the bus. Could hear the suits knees knocking."

Baker’s tweet received a huge backlash on social media following which Baker swiftly removed it and commented: “Sorry my gag pic of the little fella in the posh outfit has whipped some up. Never occurred to me because, well, mind not diseased."

He continued: “Soon as those good enough to point out it’s possible connotations got in touch, down it came. And that’s it.”

The royal baby – whose name is Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor – was born on Monday 6 May before making his first public appearance at Windsor Castle two days later.

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