Mike Graham sacked from TalkTV show over racist Facebook post

TalkTV presenter Mike Graham has been fired from his breakfast show, Morning Glory, after a “vile” post was shared on his social media. The 65-year-old said he’d been hacked after a photo appeared on his Facebook page last month showing a Sir Winston Churchill statue alongside a busy Tube carriage with a diverse range of people in it, including a woman in a hijab. The caption read: “Compare and contrast. Tell me we’re not f***** by multicultural b*****s. Why are we surrounded by non-white people? Just f*** off…” An almost identical photo of the statue of Winston Churchill was posted on Graham’s X account with the caption: “Britain today. Why are we here?” Graham’s departure was announced on Wednesday, with Talk’s parent company News UK saying they had “grave concerns” about his “repeated failure to cooperate” in the investigation into the “vile” posts. “An abhorrent and vile post appeared on Mike Graham’s Facebook page in October,” the statement said. It went on: “Mike Graham said this was not posted by him and he agreed to cooperate with a company investigation, using an independent forensic firm. “He later reneged on several opportunities to cooperate with the company investigation. “We have been gravely concerned at his repeated failure to cooperate on such a serious matter and the decision has been taken that Mike Graham will not return to Talk.” Graham was suspended from his show in late October. The journalist has shared other controversial posts on his X account. On October 21, he re-shared a user’s post showing a screenshot of an article about a teenage girl who had been sexually assaulted. The article featured a CCTV screenshot of the alleged culprit, who had a beard. The user had captioned their post: “I’m getting a vibe that he isn’t Scandinavian.” Graham apologised for his Facebook post a day after it appeared last month, writing on X: “On Sunday night my Facebook was accessed and a vile message was posted on my page without my knowledge. “It contained words that I would never write and an opinion I don’t share. “As soon as I found out I immediately deleted the post and have taken steps to ensure my cyber security is enhanced. “Obviously I am mortified that such a post could have gone out in my name and am now attempting to find out how it could have happened.” He concluded: “I am equally very sorry for any distress it has caused to anyone.” The broadcaster later thanked listeners and viewers for their support. “I just want to say thank you to all of you brilliant listeners and viewers who have sent me some of the most brilliant messages of support over the past couple of weeks,” he wrote. “I really appreciate it. I’ve read every single one. They really give me great encouragement.”