Sky News row over ‘too white’ coverage

A RACISM row has erupted at Sky News after a senior reporter claimed its coverage of the Ukraine war was ‘too white’.

Inzamam Rashid complained to Sky News boss John Ryley that ‘not a single person of colour on or off air has been to cover the crisis’.

But the channel’s award-winning special correspondent Alex Crawford has hit back at Rashid – who was taken off air for three months after breaching Covid-19 rules to attend anchorwoman Kay Burley’s 60th birthday in December 2020.

In an email to colleagues, Crawford wrote: ‘It is not quite correct to say there has been “no single person of colour either on or off screen” in our coverage of Ukraine. My Chinese mother and grandmother would be appalled at their daughter/granddaughter’s heritage being dismissed.

‘And I’m pretty sure Neville Lazarus, who is currently in Odessa; Zein Ja’far, who is heading back for his second stint in Ukraine; plus Dominique Van Heerden, just recently back from her trip, would all take exception to your assertion.’

Other staff at Sky News are also infuriated by Mr Rashid’s claim.

One told The Mail on Sunday: ‘I don’t think we should be taking much guidance from someone who brought the company into disrepute.’