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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Entertainment
Lily Waddell

Naga Munchetty swerves punishment after breaking BBC rules over Union Jack tweets

Naga Munchetty dodged punishment after she breached the BBC's rules with "liking" Union Jack tweets on social media, the broadcaster said.

At the time, the presenter apologised for "liking" so-called offensive tweets about the Union Jack after a BBC breakfast interview in March.

BBC found this was in breach of the broadcaster's "standards of impartiality as they apply to social media".

But the broadcaster was satisfied Naga had removed the "likes" and apologised.

The BBC descended into chaos when co-host Charlie Stayt made a sarcastic comment about the size of the flag behind the Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick.

Naga Munchetty escapes punishment after breaking BBC rules with Union Jack tweet (BBC)

Viewers complained after cameras showed a giggling Naga trying to cover up her laughter following the comments.

The segment certainly caused a stir on social media at the time sparking some complaints.

However, BBC maintained the remarks were "humorously intended" and Mr Jerek's smile was "taken in that spirit".

As a result, the complaints about this were not upheld and the situation was "resolved".

The statement in full read: "Thanking Mr Jenrick at the end of the interview Mr Stayt, referring to the Union Flag visible behind him, said “I think your flag is not up to standard size Government interview measurements, I think it’s just a little bit small”.

Charlie Stayt made a sarcastic comment about the size of the flag behind the Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick (BBC)

"It was evident from the laughter audible in the studio that the remark was humorously intended, and from Mr Jenrick’s smile that it was taken in that spirit. The brief exchange between the presenters after the interview, in which Ms Munchetty drew attention to the portrait of the Queen in Mr Jenrick’s office, continued in a jocular vein.

"In the ECU’s view the target of the humour was the prevalence of patriotic symbols as a backdrop for ministerial interviews, not what those symbols represent, and any offence on the part of viewers arose from a misunderstanding of the presenters’ intentions.

"It therefore did not uphold these complaints.

It was sense of humour (BBC)

"In relation to subsequent social media activity by Ms Munchetty in her Twitter account, the ECU noted that she had “liked” a number of tweets which were disparaging of the Government’s use of patriotic symbols (one of which used strong language).

"This risked giving the impression of endorsing one strand of opinion in a controversial area, and was in breach of the BBC’s standards of impartiality as they apply to social media activity by BBC staff engaged in journalism and factual programming (as well as being potentially offensive).

"However, Ms Munchetty had removed the “likes” before complaints about the matter reached the ECU, and posted an apology on Twitter which made clear that the tweets in question did not represent her own views or those of the BBC. In the ECU’s view, this sufficed to resolve the issue of complaint."

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