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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Entertainment
Scarlett O'Toole

BBC accused of cutting off Joe Lycett's anti-government jibe at Commonwealth Games

BBC viewers have slammed the cooperation for attempting to cut Joe Lycett 's anti-government during the Commonwealth Games opening ceremony on Thursday night.

The outspoken comedian, 34, was part of the presentation of the opening ceremony on Thursday night.

Dressed in a frilly pink tracksuit, Joe described himself as "Birmingham's answer to Sporty Spice," before introducing athletes from Asia to Alexander Stadium.

"I’m thrilled to be here next to all these pyrotechnics in this highly flammable outfit," he quipped.

Introducing the next round of athletes, he went on: "I’m going to do something now that the British government doesn’t always do, and welcome some foreigners and welcome the region of Asia."

BBC Sport shared a clip of his opening comments on Twitter, however, they ended the clip before Joe's pop at the Tory party.

Joe wore an extravagant outfit to the ceremony (Elsa/Getty Images)

They captioned the video: "@joelycett, you MUST tell us where you got that outfit!"

People were quick to criticise the broadcaster, with one person tweeting: "We all know what he said you crooks."

Another said: "Cut it off before he said something bad about the government. Very impartial."

A third person wrote: "The BBC conveniently cutting off where he said 'let’s do something the British government doesn’t always do and welcome some foreigners'."

"Should’ve put all of what he said on," another person commented, while someone else said: "You really should show the entire clip."

The Games kicked off on Thursday (AFP via Getty Images)

The Tory government has faced severe criticism for a series of hard-line immigration policies, including the Windrush scandal and its most recent Rwanda asylum scheme.

The first deportation flight was grounded in June after a series of legal challenges, and another attempt is yet to be scheduled.

The policy is a response to thousands of people reaching the UK after navigating busy shipping lanes from France in small boats since the start of this year.

Tory leadership rivals Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak have recently issued new pledges on migration in the race to become Britain's next Prime Minister.

Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss have lurched to the right (PA)

Foreign Secretary Ms Truss vowed to send even more migrants to Africa under the widely derided policy.

Former Chancellor Mr Sunak also defended it and promised to introduce a cap on refugee numbers if he becomes PM.

It means the UK will crack down further on illegal migration in the coming months, regardless of who enters Downing Street, after both rivals pledged to tighten British borders.

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