Kay Burley volunteering at food bank following Sky News suspension for lockdown violation
Sky News presenter Kay Burley- has been spotted handing out meals at a foodbank in northwest London.
The 60-year-old newsreader has been suspended from by Sky after she broke coronavirus lockdown rules while celebrating her birthday with colleagues in December.
Burley has appeared in a video on the London’s Community Kitchen social media handing out packages of pre-prepared nutritious meals in Wembley to those living in lockdown without cooking facilities.
Watch: Kay Burley off air for six months after breaking Covid rules
The newsreader is seen looking dressed down in a hi-vis jacket with the foodbank’s logo on it, a padded jacket, casual trousers and trainers and apparently no make-up.
She is wearing a pink facemask and blue gloves as personal protective equipment.
Read more: Kay Burley apologises for breaking Tier 2 rules while celebrating 60th birthday
Speaking about what she is doing she says: “We’ve got bread, eggs, ready meals, vegetarian of course, water.
“We have lots of volunteers packing them, we have tons of them already.”
As she hands over a food package she tells the recipient, “I hope you enjoy it.”
Burley – who spent some time in South Africa before Christmas – was suspended from Sky News for six months following an internal investigation. Political editor Beth Rigby and north of England correspondent Inzamam Rashid were given three month suspensions.
The three Sky News staff were among a party of 10 who attended a meal at private members venue the Century Club in London’s Soho on Saturday, 5 December, to celebrate Burley’s birthday.
Burley tweeted: “Evening everyone I want to apologise to you all for an error of judgment. On Saturday night I was enjoying my 60th birthday at a Covid compliant restaurant. I am embarrassed to say that later in the evening I inadvertently broke the rules.
I had been waiting for a taxi at 11pm to get home. Desperate for the loo I briefly popped into another restaurant to spend a penny. I can only apologise 2/2
— Kay Burley (@KayBurley) December 7, 2020
“I had been waiting for a taxi at 11pm to get home. Desperate for the loo I briefly popped into another restaurant to spend a penny. I can only apologise.”
The party is said to have sat at two separate tables – a group of six and a group of four – before moving on to restaurant Folie to continue the celebrations.
At the time London was under Tier 2 government restrictions – which stated people could not socialise with anyone outside their household indoors. Socialising outdoors in a public place or garden was restricted to ‘the rule of six’.
Read more: James Cleverly empty-chaired by Sky's Kay Burley after car-crash interviews
Burley was replaced by Sarah Hewson as anchor of Sky News in the days after her birthday celebrations, but insisted she had always been planning to take time off to go on holiday.
She tweeted on 8 December: “Lovely people, whatever else you read be safe in the knowledge I was always heading to my beloved Africa on Friday to sit with lions. They kill for food not sport.”
Watch: What you can and can't do during England's third national lockdown