Suella Braverman has said that “discrimination against white people is racism too” after an ITV executive reportedly said the channel was not interested in hiring white men.
The former home secretary told GB News: “It’s a sad reflection of parts of our mainstream media class that some forms of racism and sexism are acceptable to them, while others provoke utter fury. This double standard is very concerning.
“We should work towards inclusive and meritocratic workplaces, where someone’s sex or skin colour are not a factor, but rather their talent and skill.
“Discrimination against white people is racism too. Discrimination against men is sexist too.
Suella Braverman slammed ITV
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“This is a truth that cannot be pretended away, however creepy and self-righteous some people are about this."
Mrs Braverman’s intervention comes as a senior backbench MP and a leading anti-racism campaigner have urged ITV and Broadcast magazine to “come clean” and release the tape of an alleged anti-white men remark by a commissioner.
An ITV commissioner allegedly said: “We really don’t want any more white men” as talent at a gathering of telly execs.
GB News has seen correspondence from Broadcast magazine, which hosted the event, confirming that there is an audio recording of the panel.
Tory MP Jill Mortimer said that the tape should be released “if they have nothing to hide.”
“I would like to see ITV release this recording so that it can be seen if the commissioner was discriminating against anybody. If they have nothing to hide I can’t see why they wouldn’t.”
The MP for Hartlepool added: “Anti-discrimination should mean 100 per cent the best person for the job regardless of any characteristic.”
Alka Sehgal-Cuthbert, the director of anti-racist campaign group Don’t Divide Us, also urged the tapes to be released.
“If verified, the instruction to avoid ‘white men’ shows not only a cavalier breach of law, but indicates a deeper political trend where minority rights (of selected groups) are being used to stigmatise and devalue the norms and values of the majority.
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Braverman said that discrimination against white people is racism too
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“This is offensive to many, black and white citizens, and profoundly anti-democratic.”
She added: “ITV and Broadcast magazine should come clean and release the tape of the panel so we can all hear what was said.”
The demands to release the tape have come after a complaint was submitted to ITV saying that Nicola Lloyd’s comments were “divisive” and “deeply upsetting.”
The complaint, seen exclusively by GB News, said: “This was not said as a joke, and she did not seek to clarify her point any further. It was said as a clear instruction to the audience to not pitch white men as talent when developing new concepts for shows on ITV.”
The complaint argued that ITV’s perspective would be in breach of the Equality Act, which prohibits discrimination based on “protected characteristics”, such as race or gender.
“Nicola Lloyd on behalf of ITV has briefed people from the broadcast and entertainment industry that they will discriminate against people based on sex and ethnicity when casting talent for television shows on ITV.”
The complaint continued: “People from all backgrounds should be given equal opportunity to apply for roles in television and casting should be based on talent not a characteristic.
“On numerous occasions when attending meetings with British television executives and an ITV owned production company based at White City, I have heard informally that they do not want more ‘white males’ as talent.
“I have repeatedly heard they want more pitches with ‘ethnically diverse’ talent, which is taken to mean no white male or white female talent.”
GB News understands that the complaint is under review with ITV
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“This, however, is the first time I have heard a senior executive explicitly state in a professional forum, that they are essentially comfortable breaking the Equality Act, by discriminating against people based on sex and ethnicity.”
Signing off as “Luke,” the complainant said: “I am concerned that raising this could negatively affect my career, so at this stage I have chosen to raise this anonymously.
“There will be many witnesses to what was said in the session, however, I am happy to speak with representatives confidentially to discuss this matter.
"It's important that the recordings are released so people can hear how broadcasters are openly discriminating against white men in the name of diversity, equality and inclusion ideology."
GB News understands that the complaint is under review with ITV.
According to industry magazine Broadcast, which organised the event, Lloyd was on the panel to discuss “What’s next for popular factual?”
According to the complaint, the audience contained at least 50 people from the media and entertainment industry, including professionals from “well-known independent productions companies, talent managers, directors, and producers.”
An ITV spokesperson said: “The panel discussion included ways to pitch new ideas and ways to further diversify content and talent offerings. We are proud to be an equal opportunities employer and we encourage diversity throughout the business.
“ITV commits to maintaining and building on our DEI successes seeking out more diverse ideas, production companies and talent, and we will continue to collaborate across the industry. We aim to create and showcase content by, with and for everyone.”