Britain-based Sky News halted its live coverage after a group of masked men disrupted the broadcast, shouting foul language and “Free Palestine”.
Sky News reporter Becky Johnson reports on the unrest in Birmingham, England, where a crowd of Muslim men gathered on Monday to “protect the city” from the “far right.” Riots have broken out in England since the shocking stabbing deaths of three young girls last week, reigniting anger over England’s immigration policies.
As Johnson spoke, a group of masked men approached the reporter on a bicycle and began yelling at her and her camera crew.
“Liberate Palestine,” one man shouts a foul phrase into the camera.
Riots break out in UK after stabbing attacks are mistakenly blamed on asylum seekers
Police officers confront protesters during an anti-immigration demonstration outside a Holiday Inn Express in Rotherham, England, Sunday, August 4, 2024. (Danny Lawson/PA via The Associated Press) (Danny Lawson/PA via The Associated Press)
“I apologize for the language, but I think there’s a sense of anger conveyed there,” Johnson responded.
Sky News suddenly cut off its live coverage as more masked men approached the cameras.
“Casey, I think… Becky, I’m sorry, we’re going to have to leave Becky here,” responded a flustered Sky News presenter Mark Austin, returning to the studio. “There’s security there. I apologise again for the language used.”
A clip of this news segment was shared on multiple X accounts and became a hot topic.
Sky News live blog I posted an update He spoke about the “tense situation” that unfolded during the broadcast.
Sky News reported that Prime Minister Johnson had just spoken to Muslim community leaders who helped rally more than 1,000 Muslim men on the streets of Birmingham that day to “calm down anger” over the anti-immigrant violence of the past few days and to “protect and defend their community.”
As she spoke, Sky News reported that the reporter was “taken off air moments later.” [men] They come on their bikes and start screaming and swearing at the camera.”
Prime Minister Johnson was quoted as saying about the incident: “The media is clearly not welcome here.”
Journalist assaulted while covering Southport protests in the UK, police initially refuse to help
Residents in the normally “quiet” town of Southport have launched an uproar against police after at least three young girls were killed in a gang stabbing attack yesterday. (Richard McCarthy/PA via The Associated Press)
Sky News did not respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.
Riots broke out across the UK after a false online rumour spread that an asylum seeker had committed a mass stabbing attack. Taylor Swift themed A dance event where three girls were killed and another girl was injured.
Over the past six days, dozens of police officers have been hit with bricks, bottles, chairs and large wooden poles, leaving them hospitalized with injuries.
On Sunday, angry mobs attacked two hotels used to house asylum seekers, smashing windows and setting fires before police dispersed the crowds and residents evacuated.
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer President Trump said Monday he was creating a “standing army” of specialized police to deal with the riots and that he was beefing up the justice system to deal with hundreds of arrests following violent unrest in cities across the country over the past week.
“Whatever the motivation, this is not a protest, this is pure violence. We will not tolerate attacks on mosques or Muslim communities,” Starmer said on Monday. “Anyone identified as taking part will be faced with the full force of the law.”
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Fox News’ Bradford Betts and Steven Sorace contributed to this report.
