Beautiful Virgin Islands

Tuesday, Sep 16, 2025

BBC apologises after mixing up two black MPs in Parliament

BBC apologises after mixing up two black MPs in Parliament

Labour MP Marsha de Cordova has blasted the broadcaster, saying black women are confused for one another due to structural racism.

Treasury and Equalities Minister Kemi Badenoch was miscaptioned as Shadow Secretary of State for Women and Equalities Marsha de Cordova during an Urgent Question in the Commons on Monday.

A statement from the broadcaster claimed the captioner ‘took too long to realise the names were out of order on the Order Paper’.

Ms de Cordova was briefly miscaptioned as Ms Badenoch in the same broadcast – an incident that has been blamed on a time lag between the speaker and the caption changing.

Ms de Cordova has blasted the BBC, saying black women are confused for one another due to structural racism.

In a tweet, the Battersea MP said: ‘The irony that this question saw the Minister deny that structural racism exists.

‘While we’re confused for each other because there are so few Black women in Parliament…

‘This is the second time this has happened to me, broadcasters need to do better @BBCParliament’.

However, an Equality Hub spokesperson said the incident was ‘clearly an honest mistake’.

The BBC said the captioner took too long to realise the list of names on the Order Paper

The BBC blamed the second incident on a ‘time lag’


A statement sent to Metro.co.uk read: ‘This was clearly an honest mistake, for which the BBC has apologised.

‘More broadly, this Government is committed to tackling actual racism, where it exists, and following the data to understand how we can build a more cohesive society and address racial disparities.’

It comes after the BBC confused Ms de Cordova with fellow Labour MP Dawn Butler last year.

Kobe Bryant fans were also left outraged last year as BBC News at 10 confused the late star for LeBron James in coverage of his death.

The broadcaster came under fire last night from a number of people who claimed the mistake would not have happened if the MPs had been white.

A Twitter user named Pete said: ‘These things happen is not good enough. I’m proud of the BBC too which is why I hold them to account when they do something so poor as this.

‘Frankly, it would never have happened if it were two white men in debate. It shows an institutional lack of respect. Things must change.’

Someone called Ashley added: ‘It’s interesting, I’ve never seen them make this mistake with white MPs.’


A statement from the BBC’s press team said they wanted to ‘sincerely apologise for the error’.

It read: ‘An apology: earlier today on BBC Parliament we mis-captioned Kemi Badenoch as Marsha de Cordova during an Urgent Question.

‘The captioner had been following the list of names on the Order Paper but took too long to realise they were out of sequence and correct their mistake.

‘We sincerely apologise for this error and have apologised directly to both MPs involved. The corrected version will appear later this evening and on iPlayer.’

Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
U.S. and Britain Poised to Finalize Over $10 Billion in High-Tech, Nuclear and Defense Deals During Trump State Visit
China Finds Nvidia Violated Antitrust Laws in Mellanox Deal, Deepens Trade Tensions with US
US Air Force Begins Modifications on Qatar-Donated Jet Amid Plans to Use It as Air Force One
Pope Leo Warns of Societal Crisis Over Mega-CEO Pay, Citing Tesla’s Proposed Trillion-Dollar Package
Poland Green-Lights NATO Deployment in Response to Major Russian Drone Incursion
Elon Musk Retakes Lead as World’s Richest After Brief Ellison Surge
U.S. and China Agree on Framework to Shift TikTok to American Ownership
London Daily Podcast: London Massive Pro Democracy Rally, Musk Support, UK Economic Data and Premier League Results Mark Eventful Weekend
This Week in AI: Meta’s Superintelligence Push, xAI’s Ten Billion-Dollar Raise, Genesis AI’s Robotics Ambitions, Microsoft Restructuring, Amazon’s Million-Robot Milestone, and Google’s AlphaGenome Update
Le Pen Tightens the Pressure on Macron as France Edges Toward Political Breakdown
Musk calls for new UK government at huge pro-democracy rally in London, but Britons have been brainwashed to obey instead of fighting for their human rights
Elon Musk responds to post calling for the murder of Erika Kirk, widow of Charlie Kirk: 'Either we fight back or they will kill us'
Czech Republic signs €1.34 billion contract for Leopard 2A8 main battle tanks with delivery from 2028
USA: Office Depot Employees Refused to Print Poster in Memory of Charlie Kirk – and Were Fired
Proposed U.S. Bill Would Allow Civil Suits Against Judges Who Release Repeat Violent Offenders
Penske Media Sues Google Over “AI Overviews,” Claiming It Uses Journalism Without Consent and Destroys Traffic
Indian Student Engineers Propose “Project REBIRTH” to Protect Aircraft from Crashes Using AI, Airbags and Smart Materials
French Debt Downgrade Piles Pressure on Macron’s New Prime Minister
US and UK Near Tech, Nuclear and Whisky Deals Ahead of Trump Trip
One in Three Europeans Now Uses TikTok, According to the Chinese Tech Giant
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
NATO Deploys ‘Eastern Sentry’ After Russian Drones Violate Polish Airspace
Anesthesiologist Left Operation Mid-Surgery to Have Sex with Nurse
Tens of Thousands of Young Chinese Get Up Every Morning and Go to Work Where They Do Nothing
The New Life of Novak Djokovic
The German Owner of Politico Mathias Döpfner Eyes Further U.S. Media Expansion After Axel Springer Restructuring
Suspect Arrested: Utah Man in Custody for Charlie Kirk’s Fatal Shooting
In a politically motivated trial: Bolsonaro Sentenced to 27 Years for Plotting Coup After 2022 Defeat
German police raid AfD lawmaker’s offices in inquiry over Chinese payments
Turkish authorities seize leading broadcaster amid fraud and tax investigation
Volkswagen launches aggressive strategy to fend off Chinese challenge in Europe’s EV market
ChatGPT CEO signals policy to alert authorities over suicidal youth after teen’s death
The British legal mafia hit back: Banksy mural of judge beating protester is scrubbed from London court
Surpassing Musk: Larry Ellison becomes the richest man in the world
Embarrassment for Starmer: He fired the ambassador photographed on Epstein’s 'pedophile island'
Manhunt after 'skilled sniper' shot Charlie Kirk. Footage: Suspect running on rooftop during panic
Effective Protest Results: Nepal’s Prime Minister Resigns as Youth-Led Unrest Shakes the Nation
Qatari prime minister says Netanyahu ‘killed any hope’ for Israeli hostages
King Charles and Prince Harry Share First In-Person Moment in 19 Months
Starmer Establishes Economic ‘Budget Board’ to Centralise Policy and Rebuild Business Trust
France Erupts in Mass ‘Block Everything’ Protests on New PM’s First Day
Poland Shoots Down Russian Drones in Airspace Violation During Ukraine Attack
Brazilian police say ex-President Bolsonaro had planned to flee to Argentina seeking asylum
Trinidad Leader Applauds U.S. Naval Strike and Advocates Forceful Action Against Traffickers
Kim Jong Un Oversees Final Test of New High-Thrust Solid-Fuel Rocket Engine
Apple Introduces Ultra-Thin iPhone Air, Enhanced 17 Series and New Health-Focused Wearables
Macron Appoints Sébastien Lecornu as Prime Minister Amid Budget Crisis and Political Turmoil
Supreme Court temporarily allows Trump to pause billions in foreign aid
Charlie Sheen says his father, Martin Sheen, turned him in to the police: 'The greatest betrayal possible'
Vatican hosts first Catholic LGBTQ pilgrimage
×