BBC presenter who was ‘gleeful’ at Boris Johnson quitting the Tory leadership race is taken off air

BBC News presenter Martine Croxall has been taken off the air for allegedly showing bias after Boris Johnson withdrew from the Tory leadership contest.

On last night’s The Papers program, where press and experts look at the next day’s publications, she said, “Well, that’s all very exciting, isn’t it?” adding, ‘May I be so merry? Well that’s me.’

The show started at 10:30pm, approximately 90 minutes after Mr Johnson withdrew from the Tory leadership race.

It led to newspapers tearing their front pages as they hastily reacted to the former prime minister’s unexpected announcement.

In her first question to her guests, Ms Croxall also noted, ‘Can we show you all the front pages, have they arrived? No, they haven’t arrived.

“It’s all a bit, you know, lastminute.com isn’t it? Because all the front pages were probably already out of date when we received them.’

Some viewers were outraged by the host’s comments, with several Tory MPs also reacting to the clip on social media, complaining that it was biased.

A statement from the broadcaster said: ‘BBC News is urgently reviewing last night’s edition of The Papers on the news channel for a possible breach of impartiality.

“It is imperative that we maintain the highest editorial standards. We have processes in place to enforce our standards, and these processes have been activated.”

The 53-year-old journalist’s action sparked a furious response, with outraged viewers demanding: action by regulator Ofcom – or being fired by the BBC.

One wrote on Twitter: ‘#MartineCroxall is absolutely disgusting. The #BBC should be impartial at all times. We all know the company is full to the brim with leftist idiots, but now they don’t even try to hide it.’

Others have questioned the bias of the BBC reporters, with one user writing: ‘BBC News’ Martine Croxall shows her bias while a newsreader should still be impartial. Unfit for the job.’

Another irate social media user tweeted: “Martine Croxall is rightly pilloried for this partisan display of staggering excitement as news broke that Boris Johnson quit the leadership contest. This lack of impartiality and professionalism illustrates why so many accuse the BBC of bias.’

‘Martine Croxall – terrible damn woman, just another good reason to downgrade the BBC,’ added another user.

Some launched a campaign on social media to complain directly to the BBC, while others said they had reported Mrs Croxall’s comments to Ofcom.

Later in the program, the presenter forgot to turn on her microphone, making it difficult for viewers to hear her introduction to the newspaper’s review.

Ms Croxall never specifically commented on what she was “relieved” about on the show.

On Sunday night, Mr Johnson claimed he had the nominations needed to get on the ballot but admitted he could not unite his warring party.

The former prime minister said there was a “very good chance” he could have been back at number 10 by the end of the week had he been standing.

However, his attempts to get his rivals, Rishi Sunak and Penny Mordaunt, to work together had been unsuccessful, so he called it quits.

In March, Mrs. Croxall triumphed on Celebrity Mastermind, beating the likes of RuPaul’s Drag Race star The Vivienne to the coveted title.

In the episode, the presenter scored ten points during her specialist topic round before filling in another 11 in the general knowledge questions.

She spoke to presenter Clive Myrie about what it was like to be a newsreader the day Prince Philip died, on April 9 last year, when she tearfully broke the news on the BBC.

She said: “We were a bit of a mess between 11 and 12 because it was a pretty quiet news day.

“Then if you look closely at the overwhelming hit in the headlines at 12 noon, three people were running through the newsroom because there’s a big story.

“So, we get to the headlines in the afternoon and I think everything is fine and then my producer says, ‘Martine, we think the Duke of Edinburgh is dead.’ And I had an incredible feeling in my body that I wanted to get up and run.”

At the time of the monarch’s death broadcast, viewers praised Ms Croxall for her composure despite being visibly emotional while reading the Buckingham Palace statement.

One said: ‘Martine Croxall did an amazing job just a moment before her necklace got caught on her microphone and she explained it when the camera came back.

“The next moment she read the breaking news, she heard she was upset when she read the words.”

But the newscaster has been involved in her share of technical gaffes while presenting the news.

In January 2020, while reading the afternoon bulletin, she was involved in a hysterical live gaffe.

As she began reading the top stories of the day, the camera went past her to the news desk in a humiliating gaffe.

“Hello everyone, this is Afternoon Live,” the host began, before disappearing as the camera flashed past her.

“I’ve lost you,” she said. “I’m going back to the office.

‘I think that’s safest. Excuse me, I’ll tell you all about our story in one second.’

Mrs Croxall’s comments last night have fanned the flames of an argument over the BBC’s impartiality.

Earlier this year, senior conservatives lashed out at the broadcasting giant, accusing the company of ‘outrageous’ bias over reporting of Mr Johnson’s apology to MPs for the lockdown celebrations in Downing Street.

They were furious at the television news and the Today program on Radio 4, accusing both programs of allowing an openly anti-Johnson agenda to dominate.

A Whitehall insider had called the BBC’s coverage of the former prime minister’s statement in January “unbearable”.

Tories angrily pointed to a series of tantalizing comments by Today host Nick Robinson as examples of bias.

They were outraged when he mockingly asked whether Mr Johnson’s apology “was really an apology.”

Robinson, who interviewed Secretary of State Brandon Lewis, said “most people” thought the prime minister was only saying sorry because he was caught.

And during the heated discussion, Mr Robinson said the Prime Minister had always focused on “blaming others for his behaviour”.

When he introduced the Northern Ireland minister, Mr Robinson said Mr Lewis was there to ‘defend’ the Prime Minister.

Conservative MP Richard Holden said: “If a BBC interviewer interrupts 32 times in ten minutes, with questions of up to 30 seconds, people will rightly ask: is this an interview, or a tirade of BBC bias, inviting a minister into like a human piñata?’

A senior Tory backbencher said: ‘It was an overly aggressive interview. Nick Robinson kept interrupting Mr. Lewis and asked the same questions. It got more and more aggressive and lasted too long.

Tory MP Peter Bone said: ‘This is a clear expression of BBC bias but I am concerned that the BBC is regularly promoting their own political agenda rather than being an independent broadcaster as they should be.

“Whether it’s the Prime Minister or Brexit, they are following a certain line.”

Conservatives pointed out that while the cabinet and leading figures had supported Mr Johnson, the BBC had spent much of the day providing a platform for often minor figures who had called on him to resign.

They see it as another example of left-of-center ‘groupthink’ at the BBC, which Tim Davie, the director-general, has vowed to stamp out in the wake of controversies, including one-sided Brexit coverage.

MailOnline has approached Ofcom for comment on Ms Croxall’s statements last night.

Last week, Channel 4 News anchor Krishnan Guru-Murthy was also taken off the air for a week after berating Northern Ireland minister Steve Baker after an interview.

The broadcaster said the presenter’s outburst to the Tory MP had violated his “strict” code of conduct.