BBC wrong to criticise Naga Munchetty for "breaching" its rules

NUJ reaction to the BBC’s statement that Naga Munchetty, BBC Breakfast presenter, had breached the corporation’s guidelines when criticising Donald Trump’s racist comments.

Michelle Stanistreet, National Union of Journalists general secretary, said: “All broadcasters, and in particular the BBC a public service broadcaster, should call out racism. It is not a matter of opinion – it is wrong. Naga Munchetty responded as a woman of colour to Donald Trump’s tweet that women Democrat politicians, all US citizens, should ‘go back and help fix the totally broken and crime infested places from which they came’. Of course, she was right to say she was furious with the President’s language and what it meant. The BBC has got it very wrong – BBC journalists should not be prohibited from commenting on evidently racist language, especially at a time when racist rhetoric is having a real impact on people’s lives.”

Naga Munchetty 'breached BBC rules' with Trump comments