Overview

• Roger Mahony, Radio 4’s head of editorial standards, issued a formal apology to Shadow Justice Secretary Robert Jenrick and ordered the removal of two ‘xenophobia’ references from the Thought for the Day segment.
• The BBC briefly pulled the Today/Thought for the Day episode from BBC Sounds before reinstating an edited version without the contested language.
• Dr Krish Kandiah, who branded Jenrick’s Mail on Sunday comments xenophobic, defended his remarks and shared the original unedited audio online.
• Cross-party figures have weighed in, with some endorsing Kandiah’s use of the term and others echoing Jenrick’s view that parental safety concerns are legitimate.
• The row has renewed scrutiny of editorial controls for pre-recorded faith slots as protests at asylum seeker hotels continue and Channel crossings reach record levels.