Channel 4 news presenter Krishnan Guru-Murthy has been taken off air for a week after he was caught making an offensive off-camera comment about Northern Ireland Secretary Steve Baker.
During an off-air moment after his exchange with Baker on Wednesday, Guru-Murthy was heard saying, “What a pussy.”
He will now not return to Channel 4 News until November 4 due to an upcoming week off, the broadcaster said.
In a statement released on Thursday, Channel 4 said: “Channel 4 has a strict code of conduct for all its staff, including program teams and on-air presenters, and takes all breaches seriously.
“Following an off-air incident, Channel 4 news anchor Krishnan Guru-Murthy has been taken off air for a week.”
After the incident, Guru-Murthy apologized to Baker on Twitter.
He wrote: “After a serious interview with MP Steve Baker I used a very offensive word in an off-air moment.
“Although it was not broadcast, that word in any context falls below the standards I set for myself, and I apologize unreservedly.
“I contacted Steve Baker to apologize.”
In an interview with Times Radio, Baker said Guru-Murthy’s dismissal would be a “public service” if he was found to have breached his code of conduct.
“I had an interview earlier with a journalist I don’t have a lot of respect for, who I thought misrepresented the situation by the construction of his question, which I shouted, I think live on air, or I thought it was pre-recorded,” he said .
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“And he clearly didn’t like that, quite rightly.” But I’ll be perfectly honest, I’ve spent a long time live on air blaming him for his behavior as a journalist, and I’m happy to do so any time.
“But it’s very unfortunate that he swore on air like that. If he is in breach of his code of conduct, I really hope they fire him – that would be a service to society.
Baker later responded to Guru-Murthy’s tweet, accepting the apology and saying he “appreciated” the gesture.
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