Yahoo News Sky News presenter apologises for 'patronising' live TV interview
Sky News presenter Jayne Seckler has apologised for turning an interview about Britain’s housing crisis into a rant about her tenants.
Seckler, who is a landlord herself, told housing campaigner Kirsty Archer that the high cost of renting in London is “not the landlord’s fault”, before sensationally questioning if some young tenants have the “necessary skills to rent”.
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Seckler said during the interview: ″Some would say – and I am speaking as somebody who has rented flats [and] who also rents flats out – that especially with the younger generation in terms of renters you very often find that tenants don’t really know how to do a great deal in homes.”
She continued: “I, for example, have had tenants complaining because lights have popped – because they don’t know how to change light bulbs. I’ve had tenants complaining about the heating – they haven’t turned the boiler on.
“It’s just very obvious things. If you lived in a home that you owned nobody would be able to fix these things for you. They are just things that actually often require a bit of common sense.”
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The presenter then asked Archer: ”Have you found amongst your friends that you perhaps aren’t equipped with all the necessary skills to rent?”
Archer immediately hit back, describing Seckler’s line of questioning as “patronising”, and viewers certainly agreed with her on social media.
This is unbelievably bad journalism, good on the interviewee for calling her out for being patronising AF 🤦🏼♀️🤦🏼♀️
— Molly R (@Molpol) April 15, 2019
I think she should apologise for her snide, patronising manner, which led to the use of the term 'pissed off'.
— David Kirkwood #FBSI (@bigd4ddy71) April 15, 2019
An example of how not to conduct an interview and also a conflict of interests. So wrong.
— Me (@emquietwriter) April 15, 2019
Broadcasting regulator Ofcom has since confirmed that it received 15 complaints about the interview, and now Seckler has issued an apology.
“Clearly yesterday I got the tone and content of an interview wrong and it has upset many people,” she said. “I am sure many of us will have made a mistake at work – unfortunate for me mine is a lot more public than most. Please be assured I have taken the many comments on board. Mea culpa.”
