Jeremy Clarkson blasts BBC for U-turn on Naga Munchetty racism ruling: Ex-Top Gear host says director-general Lord Tony Hall threw standards chief ‘under a bus’ by undermining decision
- The former Top Gear host accused Lord Hall or undermining his standards chief
- Mr Clarkson wrote it ‘disturbed him’ how BBC chief had ‘thrown him under a bus’
- Munchetty was censured by BBC’s watchdog for suggesting Trump was racist
Jeremy Clarkson – who has criticised the BBC over the Naga Munchetty racism row – walking in London in April
Jeremy Clarkson has criticised the BBC for going back on its decision to censure presenter Naga Munchetty for suggesting Donald Trump was being racist.
The former Top Gear host accused director general Lord Hall of undermining BBC standards chief David Jordan, who he said had always been ‘fair’.
He wrote in his Sunday Times column: ‘What disturbs me most all about this sorry saga is that the BBC has thrown its chief of editorial policy (ed pol), a man called David Jordan, under the bus.
‘People complained after the Munchetty ruling that the ed pol police were not considering what the situation felt like for a woman of colour.
‘The truth is, though, that when they come to do their job, they don’t see colour.
‘They just see a BBC News person implying the president of America is racist. There may be only a few hundred people in the country who think Munchetty is wrong.
‘But it is not the BBC’s job to ignore them or their views, abhorrent though they may be.’
Naga Munchetty was found by the BBC to have breached editorial guidelines when she reacted to Trump’s ‘go home’ remarks to four Congresswomen on BBC Breakfast on July 17 (pictured: Ms Munchetty alongside co-host Dan Walker)
His comments came as Ofcom said it would look into the BBC’s ‘lack of transparency’ over the row ‘as a matter of urgency’.
The body will examine the BBC’s failure to publish its reasoning for its initial decision that Munchetty had breached editorial guidelines when she remarked on comments made by the US President telling female Democrats to ‘go back’ to where they came from.
The ruling was overturned last week by Lord Tony Hall following a large public backlash and Ofcom will also look at the Director-General’s intervention.
The BBC’s executive complaints unit (ECU) last month ruled that BBC Breakfast presenter Munchetty had breached editorial guidelines with her comments on the US president.
However, Ofcom has said that, following its own assessment, the July 17 broadcast of BBC Breakfast was in fact impartial, in accordance with the Broadcasting Code, and that an investigation was not justifiable.
The media regulator said it has received 18 complaints, the majority of which related to the fact the ECU initially partially upheld a complaint against Munchetty.
Kevin Bakhurst, Ofcom’s group director for content and media policy, said: ‘Due impartiality rules are vital for maintaining high levels of trust in broadcast news.
‘We took into account the format of the BBC Breakfast programme and the nature of the presenters’ exchange. Our assessment is that it would not breach our broadcasting rules and does not warrant investigation.’
Mr Clarkson accused director general Lord Hall of undermining his standards chief David Jordan, (pictured on September 16) who he said had always been ‘fair’
Mr Bakhurst added: ‘More widely, we have serious concerns around the transparency of the BBC’s complaints process, which must command the confidence of the public.
‘We’ll be requiring the BBC to be more transparent about its processes and compliance findings as a matter of urgency.’
Ofcom said that the exchange between Munchetty and her co-host Dan Walker was not considered to have breached due impartiality rules.
The watchdog has published correspondence between the BBC and itself following what they said was a ‘lack of transparency’ from the broadcaster.
A BBC spokeswoman said: ‘We note Ofcom’s finding and the fact they agree with the Director-General’s decision.’