A BBC newsreader has apologized for briefly giving a middle finger on camera. “It was a private joke with the team and I’m sorry that it went on air,” Maryam Moshiri told the PA news agency on Thursday on the short message service X. It was never her intention for something like this to happen. Several media outlets reported on the faux pas and published a video.
In an excerpt you can see how the presenter briefly holds her middle finger up to the camera, quickly takes it down and says: “Live from London – this is BBC news”. She then reported on former Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who has to answer to a commission for his policies in the corona pandemic.
In a statement to X, from which the newspapers “Times” and “Guardian” quoted, Moshiri spoke of a stupid joke. While the director counted down from ten, she acted as if she was also counting down. When she got to number one, she turned her finger over and didn’t realize that it was in the picture. “I’m sorry if I offended or upset anyone.”
