Naga Munchetty: Ofcom probes presenter’s racism comments as backlash against BBC grows

Media regulator will judge presenter’s remarks against own broadcasting code

Ofcom is assessing the content of a BBC Breakfast show after the broadcaster censured presenter Naga Munchetty over her comments about Donald Trump.

“We have recently received complaints relating to this programme and we are assessing the content against our own broadcasting rules,” an Ofcom spokesperson said.

If after the assessment the regulator finds that the content raises issues under the Ofcom code, it will launch a formal investigation.

On Wednesday the BBC’s own complaints unit found Ms Munchetty had breached its editorial guidelines on impartiality in the programme, which was broadcast on 17 July.

The presenter was reprimanded over comments she made about Donald Trump telling four congresswomen of colour to “go back” to the places they were from.

During a discussion with co-host Dan Walker in July, Ms Munchetty said every time she, as a woman of colour, had been told to “go back to where [she] came from” the exchange was “embedded in racism”.

“Now I’m not accusing anyone of anything here, but you know what certain phrases mean,” she added.

When Mr Walker then asked her how she felt when hearing the president’s remarks Ms Munchetty replied: “Furious. Absolutely furious. I can imagine lots of people in this country will be feeling absolutely furious that a man in that position feels it’s okay to skirt the lines with using language like that.”

The broadcaster’s decision to censure the presenter has been widely condemned by members of its own staff, politicians and celebrities.

Chi Onwurah, a Labour MP, revealed on Friday that she had written to Ofcom “to complain about the BBC’s censoring of Naga Munchetty for challenging racism”.

In her letter Ms Onwurah claimed the BBC’s decision to reprimand the presented is in “direct contradiction with Ofcom’s Broadcasting Code” and asked the regulator to clarify whether it thought Ms Munchetty had breached the code.

The BBC has refused to comment on Ofcom’s announcement.

“C’mon BBC. This is ridiculous,” Sajid Javid, the chancellor, said on Twitter. “It’s perfectly understandable why she said what she did.”

“What [Naga Munchetty] described is something most people of colour in the UK have experienced – being told to go back to where we came from,” said Sadiq Khan, the Mayor of London.

“Educating viewers on racist language is something she should be applauded for, not censured.”

Numerous staff at the broadcaster have also spoken out on the issue.

“I think my issue with it is that you have to make sure people who bravely say things that highlight how vulnerable they’ve felt are looked after by the guidelines as well. Bloody love Naga,” Greg James, the host of the Radio 1 breakfast show, said on Twitter.

The BBC executive committee, which includes director-general Tony Hall, sent a further note about Ms Munchetty’s treatment to all staff on Friday evening.

“You will have heard a lot of comment over the past few days about the BBC and the reporting of racism,” the panel say in the email.

“The BBC is not impartial on racism. Racism is not an opinion and it is not a matter of debate. Racism is racism.”

“Naga Munchetty – one of our stars – was completely within her rights to speak about the tweets of Donald Trump which have been widely condemned as racist. We completely back her in saying “as a woman of colour, to go back where I came from, that was embedded in racism”.

“She was speaking honestly and from the heart about her own experiences. We admire her for it and she was completely justified in doing so.

“The very limited finding was not about Naga’s comments on racism. That part of the complaint was rejected. Diversity matters hugely. The success of the BBC is built on the quality and diversity of our people. That is not negotiable.”

The part of the complaint which was upheld concerned Ms Munchetty’s decision to “comment critically on the possible motive for, and potential consequences of, the president’s words.”

A BBC spokesperson told The Independent:“Despite at the end of the exchange acknowledging “I am not here to give my opinion”, Naga Munchetty did comment directly and critically on the possible motive for, and potential consequences of, the president’s conduct, which by their nature were a matter for legitimate discussion and debate. This, in our view, went beyond what the Guidelines allow for under these circumstances.”

David Jordan, the broadcaster’s director of editorial policy, told the Newswatch programme that the reason the complaint was upheld was because Mr Walker and Ms Munchetty went on to speculate about the president’s motives.

They conjectured that it may have been in a bid to get attention.

“There is no doubt that the comment that [Mr Trump] made was racist,” Mr Jordan added.

“To say to anybody from an ethnic minority community, from an immigrant community, that they should go back to where they came from is just ignorant prejudice, and is racism.”