‘Thought police in action’... fury of ITN staff gagged over newsreader race row
ITN staff are furious at being gagged from tweeting any opinion about newsreader Alastair
Stewart’s shock departure amid claims of racism.
Department heads were warned by chief executive Anna Mallett’s right-hand man Chris Shaw at a meeting last week that only tributes could be paid to the broadcaster, who had worked there for 44 years.
One senior staff member said: ‘For an organisation that vows to uphold freedom of speech, gagging your staff is outrageous. This is an unprecedented decision, the thought police in action. It’s Orwellian.’
Journalists and presenters at
ITN have accused Ms Mallett of double standards after she failed to reprimand Political Editor Robert Peston for mistakenly claiming that a Labour activist hit a Tory adviser in the run-up to the General Election last year.
A senior staff member told The Mail on Sunday: ‘This is blatantly ageist. Alastair’s face didn’t fit any more – he was too old. Peston’s face fits. It’s that simple.’
Stewart, 67, resigned last Wednesday, citing a ‘misjudgment’ after a spat with fellow Twitter user Martin Shapland. Stewart had quoted a passage from Shakespeare’s Measure For Measure that included the phrase ‘angry ape’.
Mr Shapland, who is black, called Stewart a ‘disgrace’ and accused him of referring to him as an ape using the cover of Shakespeare. However, he later said an apology would have been enough.