Kay Burley - Criticism

Criticism

On 3 February 2010, Burley interviewed Peter Andre less than 24 hours after his ex-wife Katie Price married Alex Reid in Las Vegas. Andre had been booked in advance to promote his new album, when Burley questioned him about Price, Reid and his children. He was also asked to comment on an interview Dwight Yorke, the father of Price's first child Harvey, had given to Sky News in October 2009. When the questions advanced to asking whether Andre feared losing custody of his children to Reid, he became visibly upset, declaring "I was not prepared for this", and asking to end the interview. Burley's treatment of Andre garnered almost 900 complaints to Ofcom, although she was cleared of any breaching broadcasting guidelines.

In February 2010, Burley was forced to apologise on-air for offending Catholics when she joked that US Vice President Joe Biden, who had ashes on his forehead to mark Ash Wednesday, had a "large bruise" that he had picked up from "walking into a door" or from slipping on ice during his recent trip to Canada for the 2010 Winter Olympics.

On 8 May 2010, Burley was heckled during an interview outside the Houses of Parliament by a protester who chanted "Sack Kay Burley. Watch the BBC. Sky News is shit!" Burley, who was talking to Ben Page from Ipsos MORI, commented that "they don't like The Sun, they don't like us, they don't like Rupert" before the interview was abruptly terminated, with the broadcast cutting to a silent, animated Sky News logo for over a minute. Burley was also criticised for an interview with David Babbs, Executive Director of 38 Degrees in which she repeatedly interrupted him as he talked about the possible consequences of a coalition between the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats, saying, "your views are not going to sway the people that are talking behind closed doors. The public have voted for a hung parliament. We have got exactly what we voted for... so you marching down past Westminster today will make no difference whatsoever. Why don't you just go home? Why don't you go home and watch it on Sky News?" The Guardian commented "Paxman, it ain't." The media regulator Ofcom received over 700 complaints about the incident from viewers, but found no breach of its code.

On 9 September 2010, Burley interrupted Labour MP Chris Bryant during an interview regarding developments in the News of the World phone hacking affair with the words, "No, no, no, you can't say that, sir... No, no, no, no, I have to interrupt you, do you have evidence for that?... Pretty strong claim if you don't!" When Bryant responded that the evidence for his statement was clearly included in the parliamentary debate that Burley was actually covering in that section of the programme, she replied, "So you are in a position to have listened to the debate and read the report and as a result you are content to say that on telly.?" Bryant responded, "I have just said that. You seem to be a bit dim, if you don't mind me saying so."

On 5 October 2012, Burley was accused of insensitivity after she broke the news of the probable death of missing five-year-old April Jones live on air to volunteers who had been assisting in the search for her. The interviewees were unaware that the case had become a murder inquiry.