British Channel 4 news anchor Krishnan Guru-Murthy was suspended Thursday after he was caught calling a member of Parliament the c-word.
The remark was not broadcast on the air but was heard on a live feed as Guru-Murthy interviewed Conservative MP Steve Baker about Liz Truss, who resigned as prime minister on Thursday.
“It wasn’t a stupid question, Steve, you know it. I’m very happy to go up against you on Truss any day,” Guru-Murthy said. A few seconds later he said, “What a cunt,” with a laugh.
“Channel 4 has a strict code of conduct for all its employees, including its programming teams and on-air presenters, and takes any breaches seriously,” head of news Louisa Compton tweeted. “Following an off-air incident Channel 4 News anchor Krishnan Guru-Murthy has been taken off air for a week.”
Guru-Murthy had posted on Twitter earlier to apologize for Wednesday’s gaffe.
“After a robust interview with Steve Baker MP, I used a very offensive word in an unguarded moment off air,” he wrote. “While it was not broadcast that word in any context is beneath the standards I set myself and I apologise unreservedly. I have reached out to Steve Baker to say sorry.”
