
Cometh the hour, cometh the microphone left live at an inopportune moment. Back in 2010 Gordon Brown scored an own goal by referring to a disgruntled former Labour supporter as a “bigot” while out campaigning before the general election – and for the Scottish independence referendum, it appears it’s down to Sky Kay Burley to make a similar mistake.
She called a Yes supporter “a bit of a knob” seconds before she was due to give a report to camera in Aberdeen, apparently unawares that the microphone was turned on several seconds before the camera. It appears the person in question didn’t want to be filmed by her crew, but she took a photo with her phone and then held that up to the camera.
“At least two people campaigning against England here,” she quipped, though the irony is not lost on this Mole that this may feed into the widespread belief among Yes supporters that the establishment media is biased against Scottish independence.
UPDATE: Burley has apologised:
Soz for poor language – never alone with a microphone! Challenging environment ;-)
— Kay Burley (@KayBurley) September 17, 2014
.”DavieAdam no, someone who wanted to hit my cameraman with a stick. Not acceptable
— Kay Burley (@KayBurley) September 17, 2014