BBC presenter Martine Croxall has sparked outrage after seeming to laugh at a joke about Boris Johnson.
Ms Croxall was presenting The Papers last night, where she goes through the next day’s headlines with an expert panel, when she laughed at a gag about the former PM ruling himself out of the Tory leadership race.
She admitted through her giggles that she was “probably breaking some terrible impartiality rule“.
The anchor opened the show by asking: “Am I allowed to be this gleeful? Well I am!”
Later in the programme, she laughed as journalist Tony Grew mocked Mr Johnson, interrupting the seasoned journalist to apologise for her chuckling and say she was “probably” breaching the rules.
The show aired just minutes after the former Mayor of London announced he would not run for a second term in office.
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Ms Croxall’s remarks sparked outrage on social media, with viewers expressing their frustration at the latest apparent breach of the Beeb’s supposedly strict impartiality regulations.
One Twitter user called the comments an “utter disgrace”.
Another chimed in saying: “Another biased BBC employee.”
A third furious user wrote: “The BBC is meant to be impartial at all times.
“We all know the Corporation is full to the brim with left wing whackos, but now they don’t even try to hide it.”
However, some argued a clip of the incident circulating online misrepresented Croxall and was taken out of context.
One defender wrote: “Martine Croxall is obviously expressing excitement at the timing of ‘hot news’ during a segment that everyone knows is informal and conversational.
“Not being biased does not mean ‘robotic’.”
Another said: “Sharing a 7 second clip out of context doesn’t prove the point you’re trying to make.
“Watch the whole segment. She’s clearly excited by the fast moving news and headlines being rewritten.”
This comes after the BBC backed down earlier this year on hiring a controversial left-wing presenter after an impartiality row.
Matthew Stadlen, 42, has spent years railing against Boris Johnson, Brexit and the Tories — accusing them of pandering to racists.
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Just hours after Stadlen tweeted that he would be filling in for a regular Radio 5 Live presenter, the corporation confirmed that their “plans had changed” and he would not be taking on the role.
The BBC has been contacted for comment.
