Channel 4 "regrets" any offence caused by Jon Snow's "white people" comment during Brexit march coverage
Ofcom has received over 2,000 complaints about the presenter's comment
Channel 4 has apologised and said it "regrets" any offence caused after presenter Jon Snow said he had "never seen so many white people in one place" during live coverage of the pro-Brexit protests on Friday 29th March, the day the UK was supposed to leave the European Union.
Speaking live outside the Houses of Parliament during the broadcaster's flagship news programme, Snow 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.”
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The comments were made as the presenter was signing off from the live news bulletin.
In a statement, Channel 4 said: “This was an unscripted observation at the very end of a long week of fast-moving Brexit developments.
“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 under-represented. We regret any offence caused by his comment.”
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Ofcom confirmed that it has received 2,025 complaints about Snow’s comments.
In a statement to RadioTimes.com, an Ofcom spokesperson said: “We are assessing these complaints against our broadcasting rules, but are yet to decide whether or not to investigate.”
