BBC podcast presenter David Yelland faced criticism after mistakenly identifying Conservative politician James Cleverly, confusing him with former Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng.
Yelland, a former editor of The Sun and co-host of the BBC Radio 4 podcast "When It Hits The Fan," posted on social media platform X about Cleverly's announcement of his intention to run for London mayor. Yelland described Cleverly as "Liz Truss's Brexit Chancellor," a role that was actually held by Kwarteng during Truss's brief premiership in 2022.
Cleverly, who had recently resigned as the Tories' housing spokesperson, responded to Yelland's post, humorously stating, "David, I'm the other black one."
Yelland acknowledged the error, calling it a "stupid error" and a "mistake," but initially resisted apologizing, claiming he had confused the job title rather than the individuals. He stated that Cleverly was the Foreign Secretary under Truss and that he had meant to reference that position. Yelland later clarified that he had indeed made an "idiotic error" by confusing the roles and corrected his post.
Cleverly, born in London to a white father and a Sierra Leonean mother, served as Foreign Secretary for over a year after Truss's premiership ended following economic turmoil caused by her mini-budget. Kwarteng, also born in London, is the son of Ghanaian immigrants and served as Chancellor during the period of economic instability.
The exchange on X drew reactions from various commentators. Chris Rose, a member of Reform UK, pointed out the mix-up, while Lord Jackson of Peterborough described Yelland as a "buffoon." Mail columnist Andrew Neil questioned Yelland's credibility, and Talk TV host Mark Dolan suggested Yelland's error might be attributed to an "ultra woke" perspective.
Yelland maintained that his mistake was in confusing the job title, stating, "I confused the jobs not the men actually. I meant to say Foreign Sec and put Chancellor. I corrected and apologised as soon as I saw. My fault, my error."