BBC director-general Tony Hall has overturned a decision to uphold a complaint against presenter Naga Munchetty over her Donald Trump comments.
In a message sent to all staff, Lord Hall said he had “personally reviewed” the complaint against the BBC Breakfast host but that “in this instance, I don’t think Naga’s words were sufficient to merit a partial uphold of the complaint around the comments she made”.
The BBC’s Executive Complaints Unit (ECU) had ruled that Ms Munchetty breached editorial guidelines when she said the US president’s tweet calling for a group of female Democrats to go back to their own countries was “embedded in racism”.
However Lord Hall said there was "never any finding against Naga for what she said about the president's tweet" and that there was "never any sanction" against the journalist.
The BBC chief added in his email: “Racism is racism and the BBC is not impartial on the topic."
He continued: “I have looked carefully at all the arguments that have been made and assessed all of the materials.
“I have also examined the complaint itself. It was only ever in a limited way that there was found to be a breach of our guidelines. These are often finely balanced and difficult judgements.
“But, in this instance, I don’t think Naga’s words were sufficient to merit a partial uphold of the complaint around the comments she made.
“There was never any sanction against Naga and I hope this step makes that absolutely clear.
“She is an exceptional journalist and presenter and I am proud that she works for the BBC.”
The BBC ruled Ms Munchetty had crossed an editorial line when in a July breakfast broadcast she commented on the statements directed by Mr Trump towards politicians Ilhan Omar, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Rashida Tlaib and Ayanna Pressley.
Ms Munchetty told co-presenter Dan Walker: “Every time I have been told, as a woman of colour, to go back to where I came from, that was embedded in racism.”
She said: “I’m not accusing anyone of anything here, but you know what certain phrases mean.”
Questioned further by Mr Walker, she said she was “absolutely furious a man in that position thinks it’s OK to skirt the lines by using language like that”.
Sir Lenny Henry and Krishnan Guru-Murthy were among a group of black and Asian journalists and broadcasters who called for the BBC to reverse its ruling, while thousands of people signed a petition.
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn was also among those to comment, saying that Ms Munchetty "stated a fact”, and urging the BBC to “explain this astonishing decision”.
