The BBC is under fire for reprimanding presenter Naga Munchetty for suggesting a statement made by US President Donald Trump was racist.
On Wednesday, the BBC Breakfast presenter was found to have breached the broadcaster's editorial guidelines after she linked comments made by Mr Trump with her own experiences of racism.
In July, Mr Trump tweeted that four congresswomen of colour should "go back" to where they came from, despite all being US citizens.
The day after, Ms Munchetty said on the program "every time I have been told, as a woman of colour, to go back to where I came from, that was embedded in racism".
"Now, I'm not accusing anyone of anything here, but you know what certain phrases mean."
The comments were widely shared on social media, including by official BBC accounts, but one viewer complained about the remarks. The complaint sparked an investigation with the broadcaster ruling Ms Munchetty had breached impartiality rules this week.
But the BBC is now facing heavy criticism, including from its own staff.
Naga Munchetty at the BAFTA Television Awards earlier this year. Source: Getty
"Right now, there is a lot of bewilderment among BAME staff," BBC correspondent Sangita Myska said on Twitter, referring to "Black, Asian and minority ethnic".
To which presenter Matthew Price responded, "there's a lot of bewilderment (and some anger) among non-BAME staff too".
Many outside the BBC have also slammed the corporation, including television personality Piers Morgan.
"It's bloody ridiculous. Her words were powerful & necessary. Shameful censorship," he tweeted.
Opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn called it "astonishing" and asked the BBC explain itself.
Dozens of British broadcasters and journalists of colour wrote an open letter demanding the BBC reverse its decision.
"[We] strongly condemn this finding and assert that it amounts to both a misunderstanding of the BBC's editorial guidelines, and a form of racially discriminatory treatment towards BAME people who work on programming," it said.
In a statement on Thursday, the BBC said "[our] editorial guidelines do require due impartiality, but the Editorial Complaints Unit's ruling is clear that Naga Munchetty was perfectly entitled to give a personal response to the phrase 'go back to your own country'."
"She understandably feels strongly on this issue, and there was nothing wrong with her talking about her own experiences of racism," it said.
"However, our editorial guidelines do not allow for journalists to then give their opinions about the individual making the remarks or their motives for doing so – in this case President Trump – and it was for this reason that the complaint was partially upheld.
"Those judgments are for the audience to make."
