Labour MPs Dawn Butler and Marsha de Cordova have criticised the
BBC after the broadcaster confused the pair on its Parliament channel.
During a debate in the Commons about the agriculture bill on Monday, the BBC mislabelled de Cordova – Labour’s shadow minister for disabled people – as Butler, who is running to become the party’s next deputy leader.
Tweeting a photo of the mistake, Butler wrote: “I love my sister @MarshadeCordova but we are two different people. .@BBCNews@BBCPolitics I love my sister @MarshadeCordova but we are two different people. Marsha is amazing and deserves to be called by her own name. Diversity in the workplace matters it also helps to avoid making simple mistakes like this. pic.twitter.com/pXyrGKJ4hZ— (((Dawn Butler))) (@DawnButlerBrent) February 3, 2020“Marsha is amazing and deserves to be called by her own name. Diversity in the workplace matters and it also helps to avoid making simple mistakes like this.”
Meanwhile, de Cordova said the BBC had not yet apologised for the mistake. “It’s not okay at all,” she said.
Journalist Gary Younge – who has written about being mistaken for
Tottenham MP David Lammy – tweeted: “For the love of God. These aren’t any old mistakes – they are the same old mistakes.
“It’s not as if there are so many non-white MPs, candidates and knights of the realm that they cannot keep it straight.”
The BBC’s mistake comes less than two weeks after it featured a clip of
LeBron James during a report about the death of
basketball legend Kobe Bryant – a mistake the broadcaster blamed on “human error”.
HuffPost
UK has contacted the BBC for comment about its mistake regarding de Cordova and Butler. Related... BBC Apologises For Using Footage Of LeBron James In Report On Kobe Bryant's Death Dawn Butler Announces She Will Run For
Labour Deputy Leader