Sky News Australia has cancelled Freya Leach's Sunday night programme, Freya Fires Up, after a guest appeared wearing a shirt covered in raw bacon and made highly offensive remarks about Islam. The show had been on air for only six weeks.
The guest, Scottish national Ryan Williams, was introduced by Leach as a 'social media sensation' before spending a minute calling Muslims terrorists and claiming he wore bacon to protect himself from alleged threats of beheading. Sky News cut the live broadcast and the host apologised.
Williams had posted a video before the interview showing a studio assistant fitting him with a microphone, indicating Sky News was aware of his intentions. A Sky spokesperson said the assistant was a casual technical liaison unaware of the guest's background, and that editorial staff were not involved in the booking.
Sky News said it had conducted a thorough internal review and taken 'appropriate action' with everyone involved. It declined to comment on whether anyone had lost their job. Leach will remain as co-host of Sky's Late Debate, which airs four nights a week.
Leach is director of youth policy at the Menzies Research Centre and a former Liberal candidate in New South Wales. Far-right activist Tommy Robinson shared a clip of the interview online, calling Williams a 'hero'.
