BBC sacks presenter over chimpanzee tweet about British royal baby

The BBC has sacked a presenter who tweeted an image of a chimpanzee dressed in clothes with the caption “royal baby leaves hospital’’.

Meghan, wife of Prince Harry, gave birth, in the early hours of Monday, to Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor, a baby boy, who is the first mixed race child to be born into the top hierarchy of British royalty in recent history.

“Just got fired,” Danny Baker, the broadcaster with BBC Radio 5Live, said on Twitter.

Baker had shared a controversial tweet showing an image of a couple holding hands with a chimpanzee dressed in clothes with the caption: “Royal Baby leaves hospital”.

The 61-year-old 5Live presenter was accused of mocking the duchess’ racial heritage.

A BBC spokesperson said: “This was a serious error of judgment.”

The corporation added that Baker’s tweet “goes against the values we as a station aim to embody.

“Danny is a brilliant broadcaster, but will no longer be presenting a weekly show with us,” it added.

“Sorry my gag pic of the little fella in the posh outfit has whipped some up. Never occurred to me because, well, mind not diseased,” Baker wrote after an initial backlash on social media.

“Soon as those good enough to point out its possible connotations got in touch, down it came; and that’s it.’’

Prince Harry and his wife showed their son to the public for the first time on Wednesday.