BBC director general Lord Hall has overturned a decision to partially uphold a complaint against Breakfast presenter Naga Munchetty, stating her comments were not 'sufficient to merit a partial uphold'. The complaint related to remarks she made about a tweet from US President Donald Trump targeting four female politicians of colour.
Lord Hall said he 'personally' reviewed the decision of the BBC's executive complaints unit (ECU), which had found Munchetty breached editorial guidelines by criticising Trump's motives. The director general reiterated that 'racism is racism and the BBC is not impartial on the topic'.
The reversal follows widespread support for Munchetty, including an open letter from 44 black actors and broadcasters, and a letter from over 100 MPs. Lord Hall emphasised that no sanction was ever applied and that he has asked editorial teams to discuss managing live exchanges on such topics in future.
The original complainant can still refer the case to broadcasting regulator Ofcom. Munchetty had commented on Trump's tweet during BBC Breakfast on 17 July, saying that being told to 'go back to where I came from' was 'embedded in racism'.
