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UK police investigate Danny Baker's 'chimp' royal baby tweet

British police are investigating Danny Baker's tweet about Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's baby ...
Newstalk
Newstalk

09.55 11 May 2019


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UK police investigate Danny Ba...

UK police investigate Danny Baker's 'chimp' royal baby tweet

Newstalk
Newstalk

09.55 11 May 2019


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British police are investigating Danny Baker's tweet about Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's baby that resulted in the radio presenter being sacked by the BBC.

The broadcaster was accused of racism when he posted a black and white photo of a man and woman holding hands with a suited chimpanzee after Meghan gave birth.

In the caption, 61-year-old Baker wrote: "Royal baby leaves hospital."

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He later deleted the tweet, admitting it was "ridiculous, stupid and idiotic", but insisted he was not racist.

A Metropolitan Police spokesman said: "An allegation has been received by the Metropolitan Police Service on Thursday, 9 May in relation to a tweet published on the 8 May.

"As is routine, the allegation will be reviewed and assessed by specialist officers."

A day after being fired from his role on BBC Radio Five Live, Baker posted a series of messages on Twitter on Friday apologising for the "outrage" he had caused.

He described the controversy as "one of the worst days of my life" and said he made a "genuine, naive and catastrophic mistake".

"The picture in context as presented was obviously shamefully racist. It was never intended so - seriously who on earth would 'go there'?", Baker wrote.

Baker revealed he had been sacked on Thursday and criticised the BBC's handling of the situation.

He said the phone call telling him he was fired was a "masterclass of pompous faux-gravity" and the corporation "literally threw me under the bus".

In a statement announcing Baker had been fired, a BBC spokesman said: "This was a serious error of judgement and goes against the values we as a station aim to embody.

"Danny's a brilliant broadcaster but will no longer be presenting a weekly show with us."

Irish comedian Dara O'Briain said he was "amazed" Baker had been fired, saying the presenter had "immediately apologised and deleted the tweet".

"I mean, literally, in the event of mistakenly causing offence, what else can you do? Genuinely amazed by that," O'Briain wrote on Twitter.

Prince Harry and Meghan, whose mother is African-American, revealed on Wednesday that their new arrival was named Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor.

Main image: Danny Baker speaking at his London home after he was fired by the BBC for tweeting about Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's son | Image: Victoria Jones/PA Wire/PA Images


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