BBC's Naga Munchetty and Charlie Stayt 'spoken to' after flag complaints

BBC Breakfast presenters Charlie Stayt and Naga Munchetty have been "spoken to and reminded of their responsibilities" after complaints about their reaction to a government minister's flag.

Stayt drew attention to the size of Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick's union jack in an interview last week.

The BBC has said it was "meant as a light-hearted, off the cuff comment and no offence or disrespect was intended".

Munchetty later apologised for liking "offensive" tweets about the exchange.

A statement published on the BBC complaints website on Monday said: "We received complaints from people unhappy with a comment Charlie Stayt made about the flag in the background of an interview and Naga Munchetty's subsequent activity on social media."

It said Stayt made "an off the cuff remark" at the end of "a long, serious interview", but did not say how many complaints had been received.

"Naga and Charlie have been spoken to and reminded of their responsibilities, including the BBC's impartiality and social media guidelines," it added.

In September, the corporation's incoming director general Tim Davie warned BBC staff about their use of social media.

The issue of flags was also raised at a parliamentary hearing on Monday, when Conservative MP James Wild challenged Mr Davie about why the flag did not appear in the corporation's annual report.

Mr Davie replied: "We're very proud of being British and we've been out there selling British abroad, and the UK and the UK creative industries for many years and generating strong exports on the back of it.

"I'm fiercely proud of it, and we've got the union jack on top of the building flying proudly."

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