Kay Burley: Sky News presenter faces internal inquiry after breaking Covid rules

Sky journalist apologises for ‘error of judgment’

Kay Burley did not present her usual Sky News show on Tuesday morning (Getty)

Kay Burley is facing an internal inquiry at Sky News having broken Covid-19 restrictions to celebrate her 60th birthday.

The Sky presenter wasn’t on air Tuesday morning for the news show which was instead presented by Sarah Hewson. 

Ms Burley went to the Century Club in Soho, London, to mark the occasion in a group of 10. This included Sky colleagues Beth Rigby, Inzamam Rashid and Sam Washington, according to reports.

In order to get around the rule-of-six Covid rules, the group sat at two tables, one of six and one of four. They then reportedly moved on to another restaurant, Folie, later in the evening. A group of four then went back to Ms Burley’s own home to continue the party, according to reports. 

London is currently under tier 2 restrictions, meaning you can only meet people of a different household outside, unless they are within your support bubble. You can only be served alcohol while consuming a “substantial meal”. 

Read more: Tier 3 would be ‘catastrophic’ for London, warns mayor as cases rise

All of the Sky staff involved are now facing a conduct review by their employer who told The Independent: “We were disappointed to learn that a small number of Sky News staff may have engaged in activity that breached the guidelines.”

The Guido Fawkes political website first reported the news on Monday evening, and Ms Burley tweeted an apology shortly after.

She said: “I want to apologise to you all for an error of judgement. On Saturday night I was enjoying my 60th birthday at a Covid compliant restaurant. I am embarrassed to say that later in the evening I inadvertently broke the rules.

“I had been waiting for a taxi at 11pm to get home. Desperate for the loo I briefly popped into another restaurant to spend a penny. I can only apologise.”

The Sky News journalist did not address reports that four people, including Sky News staff, returned to her house later in the evening. 

Ms Burley presents a daily breakfast show where she has cross-questioned politicians about their lockdown movements, and any rules broken, since the pandemic began.

In May, she grilled Michael Gove over Dominic Cummings’s controversial lockdown visit to County Durham. During the interview she asked Mr Gove to clarify government advice for people: “Struggling with Covid-19 and you think you’ve got a problem with your eyesight,” in reference to Mr Cummings’s trip north.

A spokesperson for Sky News told The Independent that they placed “the highest importance on complying with the government guidelines on Covid” and that they “expected all our people” to do the same.