Alastair Stewart responded to a black man on Twitter with a passage about "an angry ape" from Shakespeare's Measure for Measure.
But it also seems worth pointing out that he previously used this passage to respond to at least one other tweeter who was not identifiably black... pic.twitter.com/MZgyyPlJuC
I was expecting Alastair to leave sooner than later given his reduced role in recent years, but it’s very sad it’s ended this way. He was always passionate on Twitter about the need for TV news to remain impartial especially in our politically charged times. I will miss his presence on ITV News greatly.
Alastair Stewart responded to a black man on Twitter with a passage about "an angry ape" from Shakespeare's Measure for Measure.
But it also seems worth pointing out that he previously used this passage to respond to at least one other tweeter who was not identifiably black... pic.twitter.com/MZgyyPlJuC
If you read his backstory on Private Eye he seems to be a bit of a handful - to say the least.
He lives near me. I see him out and about, in fact being a non viewer of ITV News, I probably see more of him 'for real' than on the telly! He's a larger than life character, a shame it's ended like this, I remember him popping up for the first time on Southern's Day by Day almost 40 years ago. I think that was his first broadcasting gig?
I'm gutted at this. He was reading news when I was a kid and teenager and also a colleague when I went to work for London News Network. He hasn't a racist bone in his body. This was an absolutely innocent mistake, yet unfortunately in the climate we live in, keyboard warriors will pick up on anything and turn it into something it totally isn't.
One of the greatest careers in television news, marred by one mistake.