BBC apologises for sweary comment during D-Day programme

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Andrew Feinberg

White House Correspondent

The BBC has said sorry for a sweary “inappropriate comment” that was captured during a programme commemorating D-Day.

D-Day 80: Tribute To The Fallen, which aired on June 5, was presented by Kirsty Young, from the Commonwealth War Graves Cemetery in Bayeux, France.

A clip from the live broadcast has been circulated on social media and features a voice that appears to say “French arseholes”.

A BBC spokesman said: “We sincerely apologise for an inappropriate comment that was captured during live coverage of the D-Day 80 event in Bayeux.”

The programme was unavailable on BBC iPlayer while editing took place, it is now back online.

The BBC’s D-Day coverage has included a special series of programmes this year, including an event held at the British Normandy Memorial in Ver-sur-Mer, attended by the King and Queen on Thursday.

During a speech, the King paid tribute to the “remarkable wartime generation”, telling the audience: “It is with the most profound sense of gratitude that we remember them and all who served at that critical time.”

The day’s commemorations began in the early morning with a military piper at Gold Beach in Arromanches, who played a lament at sea at the exact moment of the invasion.

They followed an emotional ceremony in Portsmouth on Wednesday, where the King appeared to wipe away a tear during an event where he paid tribute to the “courage, resilience and solidarity” of veterans.

The final international commemorative event saw the Prince of Wales join a number of world leaders at a ceremony on Omaha Beach in Saint-Laurent-sur-Mer.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak did not attend the ceremony in Normandy on Thursday but Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer mingled with heads of state such as US President Joe Biden and French President Emmanuel Macron.

A Tory source played down the diplomatic impact of the Prime Minister’s absence, pointing out he will see Mr Macron, Mr Biden, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and other key leaders at the G7 summit in Italy next week.

William spoke to Mr Biden, Mr Macron, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky ahead of the event.

Before the ceremony on Omaha Beach, Charles addressed the crowd of veterans at the national commemorative event in Ver-sur-Mer in Normandy, as he spoke of his “profound sense of gratitude” to those who served in 1944.