Published: 18:36 BST, 31 August 2026 | Updated: 19:24 BST, 31 August 2026
A BBC podcast presenter was embroiled in a furious 'race' row today after being accused of mixing up two prominent black Tory politicians.
David Yelland posted a story on social media about Tory MP Sir James Cleverly's move to leave the front benches and run for London mayor, describing him as 'Liz Truss's Brexit chancellor'.
But former MP Kwasi Kwarteng was in fact Ms Truss's chancellor during her short-lived stint as prime minister in 2022.
Mr Cleverly, who quit as the Tories' housing spokesman on August 29, was forced to inform Mr Yelland that he was 'the other black one' after the mistake went viral on social media platform X.
Mr Yelland, a former Sun editor who co-presents BBC Radio 4 podcast When It Hits The Fan, admitted he'd made a 'stupid error'.
But he refused to apologise, insisting he'd mixed up Mr Cleverly's job title rather than confused him with Mr Kwarteng. At the time, Mr Cleverly was Ms Truss's foreign secretary.
The row erupted last night after Mr Yelland posted a story on X from the Daily Mail with the headline 'Northerner Burnham has "declared war on London" says Cleverly in pitch to be capital's Tory mayor'.
This was a reference to Mr Cleverly launching his campaign by saying that Prime Minister Andy Burnham was 'anti-London'.
David Yelland, a former Sun editor who co-presents BBC Radio 4 podcast When It Hits The Fan, admitted he'd made a 'stupid error'
Amid the simmering row, James Cleverly replied to David Yelland, posting that he was 'the other black one'
Kwasi Kwarteng was Ms Truss's chancellor at the time of her ill-fated mini-budget, which brought down her government after it caused economic turmoil
Alongside the article, Mr Yelland posted: 'Is this the state of our politics?
'Liz Truss's Brexit Chancellor for ten seconds says Andy Burnham has "declared war on London" and expects that to persuade a sophisticated electorate in the capital to elect him as Mayor…this is abysmal PR…ill-judged messaging…awful.'
But Mr Yelland was left red-faced after X users pointed out that Mr Cleverly was not Ms Truss's chancellor and that Mr Kwarteng was.
