A Sky News anchor is facing a torrent of criticism after she turned an interview about housing into a rant about young tenants.
Sky broadcaster Jayne Secker was speaking to Kirsty Archer, a recently evicted tenant, about the high cost of living in London, when she launched an impassioned defence of landlords.
Ms Archer had just explained that she and her friends could not afford London’s high rent prices when Ms Secker responded: “But that's not the landlord's fault, is it? That's just the housing market.
The news anchor then went on to identify as a landlord herself, saying: “I suppose some would say, and I am speaking as someone who has rented flats and who also rents flats out, that especially with the younger generation, you very often find that the younger tenants don't really know how to do a great deal in homes.
“I, for example, have had tenants complaining that lights have popped because they don't know how to change lightbulbs. I've had tenants complain about heating and they haven't turned the boiler on. It's just very obvious things.
“Do you think you've found amongst your friends, perhaps, that you're aren't equipped with the necessary skills to rent?”
A bemused Ms Archer responded by describing the presenter’s comments as “a bit patronising really”.
“I mean we won’t complain about things like a lightbulb, and if a landlord is p***** off by things like that surely the thing to do is communicate with each other rather than hitting an eject button and turning your lives upside down,” she said.
The Sky News anchor ended the interview there and apologised for her guest’s language.
Social media users have been voicing their opinions since the broadcast on Monday.
“What language is she referring to at the end? "P***** off"? The anchor should apologize for her patronising and irrelevant rant,” tweeted one user, an American journalist.
While another said he hoped Ms Secker’s tenants “put prawns under the floorboards before they move out.”
One defender of the presenter wrote: “Not sure how this fits with broadcast impartiality, but presenter makes some valid points. Tricky one--by declaring her interest she was arguably being transparent. If she hadn't done so she could have been accused of failing to be so.”
However, another user replied: “I'm pretty sure the number of people living in mould-ridden housing or without functioning heating or a cooker is greater than the number of people who don't know how to change a lightbulb so no, I don't think her points were particularly valid."
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In the aftermath of the interview, Ms Secker took to Twitter to offer her apologies: "Clearly yesterday I got the tone and content of an interview wrong and it has upset many people. I am sure many of us will have made a mistake at work - unfortunate for me mine is a lot more public than most.
"Please be assured I have taken the many comments on board. Mea culpa."
