Radio 4 presenter Amol Rajan issued an on-air apology on Thursday morning following his use of the word “scroungers” whilst discussing benefit recipients during an interview with former Labour minister Lord David Blunkett.
The Today programme host made the controversial remark whilst examining Chancellor Rachel Reeves’s Wednesday Budget announcement.
During the exchange about the government’s decision to abolish the two-child benefit cap, Mr Rajan stated: “According to the child poverty action group there are over four-million kids in this country in poverty, more than 70 per cent of those are actually in families where people work.
“It’s not a question of scroungers on welfare, it’s actually working families.”
Amol Rajan made a swift apology after the backlash
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The comment prompted immediate backlash from listeners who questioned the BBC’s impartiality standards.
Minutes after making the remark, Rajan returned to clarify his statement to Radio 4 listeners. “I just want to clarify something, a few moments ago in my interview with Lord Blunkett I used the word ‘scroungers,'” he said.
The presenter emphasised he had not been personally labelling welfare recipients with the derogatory term.
“To be clear, I absolutely wasn’t describing people on welfare as scroungers myself, I was making the point that in families where kids are in poverty, you can’t really characterise such families as scroungers, were people to do so, because as I was saying over 70 per cent of the children in poverty are in families where people do work.”
Amol Rajan used the term ‘scroungers’ when talking about those on benefits
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BBC
He concluded: “Sorry if that was unclear, I’d certainly never myself describe people who take social security or benefits or welfare or whatever you want to call it as scroungers, that’s not the kind of language I would use.”
Social media users expressed fury over the presenter’s choice of words, with several questioning the broadcaster’s editorial standards.
One listener wrote: “BBC Radio 4 Today can you explain to me why your script editor or Amol Rajan himself decided to use the phrase ‘scroungers on welfare’? Is this the impartial BBC we’ve heard so much about?”
Another critic suggested the clarification itself remained problematic: “Regretful that in his clarification of what he meant by using degrading language about families in poverty on BBC Radio 4 Today that Amol Rajan restated the original characterisation of people on social welfare by saying that 70 percent work, so then the rest are scroungers?? Not good.”
Amol Rajan faced backlash online for the BBC Radio show comments
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The swift online reaction prompted Mr Rajan’s subsequent on-air clarification.
The controversy emerged as Mr Rajan discussed Wednesday’s Budget announcement, in which Chancellor Rachel Reeves revealed plans to eliminate the two-child benefit cap introduced by the Conservatives in 2017.
The policy change will affect approximately 560,000 families, with benefits increasing by an average of £5,310 by the 2029-30 financial year, according to Office for Budget Responsibility figures.
The fiscal watchdog estimates the measure will cost taxpayers £3 billion annually by 2030.
The comments came as Amol Rajan discussed the budget announcement
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Reeves told MPs the cap had “failed” and that 450,000 children would be lifted from poverty through its removal. She criticised the previous government’s approach: “They said they were punishing parents’ choices, but it is the kids who have paid the price.”
Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch condemned the move as part of a “Budget for Benefits Street”, arguing workers would fund increased handouts.