The Apprentice: BBC cuts You’re Fired scenes with candidate Asif after ‘antisemitism’ row

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The BBC has reduce scenes that includes a candidate from The Apprentice following stress from employees members over antisemitic posts on social media.

While Dr Asif Munaf will function in the primary present as regular, The Independent has learnt his look in scenes recorded simply days in the past for companion sequence You’re Fired will not be aired.

It is at the moment unclear in what capability Munaf was set to seem on You’re Fired, a sequence which options an interview with the most recent candidate to be fired by Lord Sugar.

This information comes after it was revealed that the previous NHS physician had obtained “specialist training” after the BBC was alerted to offensive social media posts he’d shared in regards to the Israel–Hamas struggle.

Last 12 months, Munaf wrote on Twitter/X that Zionists are “a godless, satanic cult” and mentioned of his youngsters: “I pray they are strong enough physically, spiritually and psychologically to overcome the trial of the Zionist antichrist.”

At the time, Munaf was spoken to by producers so he may “understand why his posts may cause offence”. It was reported that Munaf additionally had quite a few conversations with HR and variety and inclusion groups and likewise spoke to senior members of the manufacturing workforce after his posts had been found.

A spokesperson for The Apprentice beforehand mentioned: “After filming had taken place, we were made aware of concerns over social media posts that Asif had made after he had left the process. As soon as we were alerted, we took immediate action and spoke to Asif in detail on this. Asif took part in specialised training to understand why his posts may cause offence.

“We are committed to providing an inclusive environment on and off screen.”

In an announcement, Munaf apologised “for any offence caused by my online content/social media”, including: “It was not my intention to offend anyone, and I am of course open to all views. The beliefs I hold and have shared are based on the values that I was brought up with.”

Deadline reviews that Jewish BBC workers had been left “stunned” by the choice to let Munaf movie further scenes for You’re Fired, particularly after the candidate continued to share controversial posts after his apology.

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A BBC supply has now instructed The Independent: “We can confirm that the individual concerned will not feature as a guest on any additional upcoming BBC content relating to The Apprentice.”

Former BBC programming boss Danny Cohen instructed Deadline: “I would advise BBC managers to stop telling Jewish employees what is and isn’t antisemitism. This simply would not happen if the issue involved racism against any other minority community.”

The Independent has contacted Munaf for remark.

On Thursday (15 February), the Community Security Trust (CST), which screens antisemitism and gives safety for the Jewish group in Britain, discovered that than 4,000 antisemitic incidents had been recorded within the UK in 2023.

The complete was virtually double the earlier file in 2021, with its chief govt describing the “explosion in hatred” towards the Jewish group as “an absolute disgrace”.