Snow:‘I’ve never seen so many white people in one place’
How Remain-supporting C4 news anchor described Brexit rally... to fury of viewers
CHANNEL 4 was last night forced to issue a grovelling apology after its veteran presenter Jon Snow said he had ‘never seen so many white people in one place’ while reporting on a pro-Brexit rally.
The 71-year-old broadcaster made the inflammatory remark as he described a crowd of Leave supporters demonstrating in Westminster on Friday evening.
Speaking from outside the Houses of Parliament, he said: ‘It’s been the most extraordinary day. A day which has seen… I have never seen so many white people in one place, it’s an extraordinary story.
‘There are people everywhere, there are crowds everywhere.’
His comments provoked a furious reaction on social media.
Katharine Birbalsingh, headmistress of the Michaela Community School in Wembley, North London, said: ‘The reason Jon Snow’s words are offensive to us all and not just to whites is because they judge us by the colour of our skin and not the content of our character.’
Ryan Wills, a father-of-two who was caught up in the crowds in Westminster, took to Twitter to dispute Snow’s reporting.
‘I happened to be in Westminster after work. The “white” comment couldn’t be further from the truth. I witnessed a diverse crowd… all there for different reasons, supporting the same cause,’ he wrote.
Another shocked Twitter user, Martin Webb, asked: ‘Did Jon Snow really say he’s “never seen so many white people in one place”? Inciting racial discrimination in the most multicultural city in our country?’
In a statement, Channel 4 described Mr Snow’s remarks as an ‘unscripted observation at the very end of a long week of fast-moving Brexit developments’.
It added: ‘Jon has covered major events such as this over a long career and this was a spontaneous comment reflecting his observation that in a London demonstration of that size, ethnic minorities seemed to be significantly underrepresented.
‘We regret any offence caused by his comment.’
A spokesman for Ofcom, the broadcasting regulator, said: ‘We will assess any complaints we do receive before deciding whether or not to investigate.’
Former Ukip leader Nigel Farage described Mr Snow as an ‘appalling man’ and accused Channel 4 News of being ‘blatantly biased’.
The newscaster is no stranger to controversy and has been accused of Left-wing bias at various points during his career.
The son of a bishop, he claims to have rejected an approach by the security services to spy on ‘Leftwing people’ in the TV industry in 1976 when he was starting out as a reporter with ITN.
Two years ago, he was photographed at Glastonbury. The picture was tweeted by another festival-goer, who said: ‘Boss place that Glasto. Having a dance with Jon Snow and hearing him shout f*** the Tories is what dream are made of.’
Mr Snow failed to deny the claim, saying only: ‘After a day at Glastonbury I can honestly say I have no recollection of what was chanted, sung or who I took over 1,000 selfies with.’
At the time, a Channel 4 spokesman said he had been warned about future conduct and ‘his responsibilities around due impartiality’. Mr Snow famously refuses to wear a poppy while presenting the news on Remembrance Day and brands criticism of him for doing so ‘poppy fascism’. However, he does wear a poppy off-air.
The broadcaster has also been accused of being openly proRemain and of regularly tweeting apparently anti-Brexit statements.
Fellow broadcaster Julia HartleyBrewer described Mr Snow’s comments on Friday as ‘unbelievably shocking’. She tweeted mockingly: ‘God knows what Jon Snow made of the Hay literary festival, where he spoke last year.’
Another shocked Twitter user said: ‘I can’t watch this without feeling seething anger. What a disgrace.
‘Do I have to apologise for attending a rally which supports the majority in the referendum because I am white?’