‘I received death threats from a man convicted of gun crimes’, says BBC newsreader Clive Myrie

BBC newsreader Cleef Myrie today reveals how he received a death threat from a man with a history of gun crimes.

The broadcaster, who will co-host the BBC election night reporting, today’s Desert Island Discs tells how he was terrorized by a man who even taunted him about the type of bullets he would use.

Myrie, 59, said: ‘One guy made death threats and he was tracked down and prosecuted. And his death threats involved him talking about the type of bullet he would use in the gun to kill me and things like that.”

The presenter added that he initially tried to dismiss the threats as “showboating and bravado” but was severely shocked when he discovered how credible they were.

He said: “They tracked this character down and it turned out he had previous convictions for firearms offences. So you thought, “My God, what could this person be up to?”

BBC newsreader Clive Myrie (pictured, on This Morning in May) today reveals how he received a death threat from a man with a history of gun crimes

The broadcaster (pictured, host of Clive Myrie’s Caribbean Adventure) tells today’s Desert Island Discs how he was terrorized by a man who even taunted him about the type of bullets he would use

Myrie, who was born near Bolton to Jamaican immigrant parents, also spoke about the racism he and other presenters have experienced at the hands of viewers.

He said: ‘You’d get occasional comments on email and things like that. “People like you shouldn’t be on our TV.” “You dress like a pimp,” someone suggested.

‘And cards in the mail with gorillas on them. There was even a period in the 1990s when a number of journalists of color received excrement in the mail.’

Myrie – who presents both Mastermind and travel documentaries – said he had learned to live with the abuse, which increased as his profile grew. “It’s par for the course,” he added. ‘I used to find it exciting, but now I just feel unbridled pity for these losers. This has become a lot better since I became a presenter, and perhaps also a bit more visible.’

The broadcaster also movingly told how two of his half-brothers were affected by the Windrush scandal.

Dozens of people who had arrived from the Caribbean decades earlier were deported or threatened with deportation because the Interior Ministry destroyed files proving their legal right to stay.

Fighting back tears, Myrie told the program that his brother Lionel had been vindicated, but Peter had died before he could see justice done.

He added: “There was some degree of restitution. Lionel now has the right to stay here, but Peter died before he got his stuff and it’s just horrible.

Myrie – who presents both Mastermind (pictured) and travel documentaries – said he had learned to live with the abuse, which increased as his profile grew

The broadcaster (pictured, BBC News presenter) also spoke movingly about how two of his half-brothers were affected by the Windrush scandal

‘He wanted to take his daughter Maisie to Jamaica so she could see her parents’ home country. He couldn’t. He died of prostate cancer.

‘And there are still people who have not received their compensation. It’s just very, very sad.”

Myrie also talked about how he reported the scandal in light of his family’s experiences.

He said, ‘You’re professional. You don’t specifically talk about your own personal connection to the story, but you show a level of disbelief and a level of sadness that this could happen.”

He added that he learned of the racism his parents experienced after arriving from Jamaica.

“It was obviously a difficult time for them at times,” he said. ‘I don’t remember them ever going to a pub or ever going to a restaurant.

‘I think they just wanted to keep to themselves and that could have something to do with wanting to avoid any confrontations. I guess they just felt safe within the confines of their own home.”

Myrie also talked about how he reported the scandal in light of his family’s experiences

He added that he learned of the racism his parents experienced after arriving from Jamaica

Myrie’s mother, who had taught at a Roman Catholic school in Jamaica, was told she could not attend the Catholic church, half a mile away from her home in Bolton, because she did not live in the correct diocese. She assumed the priest was telling her the truth and worshiped at a local Church of England church instead.

Myrie said, “To this day, she [my mother] would never suggest that this was racism… It feels to me like he decided that my mother, a woman from the Caribbean and being black, should not be in his church. That’s what it feels like to me.’

Desert Island Discs airs today at 10am on BBC Radio 4 and is available via BBC Sounds.