BBC News presenter Clive Myrie was pulled from hosting the BBC Ten O'Clock News over jokes he made about Boris Johnson on a comedy show, according to national reports. 58-year-old Myrie was taken off duty on Friday, June 16, at the last minute.
The move was made due to content boss Charlotte Moore's concern about accusations of anti-Tory bias after Myrie's role on Have I Got News for You the previous evening, The Mirror reports. The presenter made a number of jibes about Johnson throughout the programme.
"After being found by the House of Commons committee to have lied repeatedly, Boris Johnson takes the opportunity to deny that he’s ever been jogging or has a dog," Myrie quipped over footage of Johnson out jogging with his dog Dilyn. The concern is understood to have been related to Myrie's back-to-back appearances on Have I Got News for You and straight on to the late news bulletin.
Speaking to The Times, an insider said: "There wasn’t a specific joke which triggered the request. “It was more to do with concerns that Clive was doing two very different types of programme within an hour of each other. There was possibly a bit of over-caution, which felt a bit over the top to most people in news.”
Meanwhile, a BBC executive said of the situation: “It didn’t feel right for Clive to go almost straight to the news when he’d just been making jokes. "It was a tonal thing rather than due to anyone being overly anxious."
Following the news of Clive's axe from BBC Ten O'Clock News, Gary Lineker has weighed in on the move. "Oh for crying out loud! If the BBC ask Clive to present Have I Got New For You he'll make political jokes," he tweeted.
It comes after disgraced former PM Johnson announced earlier this month he would quit as the MP for Uxbridge and South Ruislip immediately before the Privileges Committee warned him he faced being kicked out of Parliament for misleading MPs over Partygate.
Johnson said he was 'bewildered and appalled that I'm being forced out'. The disgraced PM faced the prospect of being suspended from the Commons and having to fight a by-election to cling onto his seat.
In an angry statement, he ranted about the 'kangaroo court'. He also highlighted how Rishi Sunak had also been fined by the police over a breach of lockdown rules.
The Mirror contacted a BBC spokesperson for comment.
