BBC friends turned on me when I voted Brexit
GB News presenter Simon Mccoy, known for his hilarious viral moments and eyebrowraising on BBC news, was shunned by some colleagues at the Corporation when they learned he had voted for Brexit.
Ahead of the launch of the news channel tonight, Mccoy, 59, said he noticed a change in behaviour towards him after he let slip at the Beeb that he had voted to leave the EU.
He also said he believes Harry and Meghan have “got it completely wrong” in how they’ve behaved since moving to California.
He said: “I voted Brexit but at the BBC when a few people heard that, I could sense the change in attitude towards me and it really upset me that it was turning friends against people.”
Mccoy, who will host the 3pm6pm shift on weekdays, said: “I voted Brexit not necessarily because of what was happening but where it was headed.
“We were looking initially at a commercial union for trade, which I absolutely supported, but you sit down and think, in five, 10 years, do we want a European army, do we want those decisions to be taken outside of us? Those were the sort of decisions I thought about and I thought, no.
“But it is difficult and promises were made by this Government that they weren’t in a position to keep. But we are where we are, and we’re all in this together, and I think if there’s a channel that can try to inform in a friendly, and often fun way, then let’s give that a go. It’s worth the risk.”
Mccoy has worked for Sky News and BBC News and was a royal correspondent for six years. This gave him an insight into the birth of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s daughter, and the controversy over her name.
Asked how GB News would cover the Lillibet story, he said: “When that story broke I was very surprised to see what they’d [Harry and Meghan] done, and thought it would only be possible if they’d asked the Queen and she’d said, ‘yes’. As a royal correspondent for six years, I was surprised the Queen had said ‘yes’.”
The BBC later questioned whether the Queen had given permission. The Duke responded with a legal letter suggesting the claim was defamatory.
Mccoy said: “It’s a massive story and just underlines the risk growing across the Atlantic with members of the same family.”
Pressed on whether he would be drawn to give his opinion on the couple on the new channel, he replied: “If I had a view, I personally think it’s a great shame and I think Harry and Meghan have got it completely wrong. If you want to go and live abroad and get away from the family, then do it. But stop giving interviews about the family and how you want to get away from it all.”
GB News, he said, is not an anti-woke channel.
“It’s not about being pro- or anti-woke. It’s about being, ‘let’s talk about why this matters’.”
He said GB News would not shy away from controversial subjects such as immigration and Brexit: “I think that the whole Brexit conversation is why we’re going to succeed because people were either 100 per cent right or 100 per cent wrong.there was no room for discussion and it split families and friends. I think we should just listen for a while, and listening is very important.”
Summing up the channel, he said: “It’s your intelligent friends on the telly who are not talking down to you, they’re talking with you, and they’re expressing a view that you may not agree with, but if you don’t agree with them, give them a call and talk about it, don’t shout at the telly, and say ‘this stuff is rubbish’.
“We voted against the European Union, people can still have their views about it, but let’s try to move on and reunite.that’s a key word for the channel.”