Yahoo News Good Morning Britain: Complaints over Richard Madeley’s clash with Guyana president pass 400
Things got heated when the president was on the ITV show in September
Complaints have continued to pour in over Richard Madeley’s discussion with the president of Guyana about slavery reparations on Good Morning Britain.
The presenter and Dr Mohamed Irfaan Ali clashed during a discussion on the ITV show on 20 September, and Ofcom later confirmed that it had received 334 complaints.
The broadcasting watchdog has now received 70 more complaints for the episode, taking the total to 404, with a spokesperson confirming to Yahoo that the majority related to Madeley's interview with the president and their discussion of repatriations.
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The interview saw Dr Ali claiming that the UK still benefits from its role in slavery, but Madeley questioned whether someone now should carry the burden of past actions.
“You should be concerned and you should pay because you today still benefit from the greatest indignity to the human being, and that is the slave trade," the politician said.
“One of the points you've been making today is about our Royal Family,” Madeley went on.
“And you feel that it's not just about the finances involved here in terms of reparations for slavery.”
Slapping his palm onto the table, he said: “It's about the gestures. And you think that the British Royal Family should make a big gesture, don't you? What do you mean? Hand over a palace to your country?”
The president replied: “Well no, we don't want the British to hand over a palace that we built.
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“If you go to many of the palaces in Britain, you'll see the lovely hard work from Guyana. You will see the sweat, tears and blood of the slaves who were exploited, and the revenue that was earned from the exploitation. So we're not asking for a palace; we're asking for justice.”
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