Nottingham attacks: Victims’ families speak at University vigil
The day after the tragic deaths of Grace O’Malley-Kumar, Barnaby Webber and Ian Coates in Nottingham, a vigil was held in the city which saw thousands attend to pay their respects.
Viewers were able to watch the vigil live on the BBC News channel as Rajini Vaidyanathan reported from the event before their families spoke about their loss.
On Saturday’s instalment of News Watch, Samira Ahmed showed footage of Rajini attending the vigil on Wednesday as the correspondent revealed there was a sombre mood at the University of Nottingham.
Samira told BBC Breakfast viewers: “What followed offended a number of news watch viewers including a J. Mansi.”
She then read out messages from viewers which highlighted their outrage.
Showing a bulletin from one person, she read: “Are we the only people watching who felt cameras were far too intrusive, showing close-up images of the grieving families?
“The vigil was very moving once it began, but the focus on the grief of the families during the wait was intrusive in the extreme.”
Samira continued to reel off the complaints as another viewer called Pete Morgan was disgruntled by the coverage and slammed the way the reporting was handled.
Reading his comment, Samira added: ”Never in my 55 years on this planet have I ever turned off any news coverage due to it being too voyeuristic and upsetting.
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“But, your current coverage was absolutely unnecessary.”
The 55-year-old confessed there was nobody available at the BBC to discuss those points raised by viewers.
However, News Watch was given a statement based on the backlash that Samira was able to reveal.
Reading the BBC’s statement, she added: “The tragic events in Nottingham this week were of huge interest to our audience, who expressed concern for and condolences to the families of the victims.
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“The UK media was invited by the university to cover the event and we aimed to include the vigil as part of our overall coverage- highlighting not only what happened, but also the lasting impact the violence will have.
“It is always our intention to be as sensitive as possible to the families and those affected.
“We appreciate the feedback from our viewers on this.”
News Watch airs on Saturday mornings during BBC Breakfast.
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