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December 6, 2019updated 30 Sep 2022 8:41am

Channel 4 News says sorry for ‘people of colour’ misquote on viral video of Boris Johnson speech

By Freddy Mayhew

Channel 4 News has apologised for misquoting Boris Johnson on immigration in a viral video shared on Twitter.

The broadcaster confused “people of talent” for “people of colour” in captions to a video clip of a speech given by the Prime Minister yesterday.

It has now deleted the tweet and issued an apology, explaining that it had “misheard” what Johnson had said while on the campaign trail.

It is widely agreed that Johnson in fact said: “I’m in favour of having people of talent coming to this country, but I think we should have it democratically controlled.”

Channel 4 News is locked in an increasingly bitter dispute with the Conservative Party, with Johnson repeatedly snubbing it this year.

He twice refused to take part in leaders’ debates on the channel during the election campaign, leading one to be cancelled.

Channel 4 News also used an ice sculpture as a stand-in for a no-show Johnson on its climate debate.

The stunt prompted the Tories to complaint to Ofcom, but the broadcast regulator rejected it this week.

Channel 4 News editor Ben de Pear has accused the Conservatives of “behaving like Donald Trump with the press”.

Picture: Reuters/Hannah McKay/Pool

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