Clive Myrie has been kicked off BBC News at Ten because of jokes he made about Boris Johnson while hosting a comedy show, it has emerged.
Myrie, 58, was removed from the programme last Friday at the last minute when content chief Charlotte Moore became concerned about accusations of anti-Tory bias arising from his role as presenter of Have I Got News For You earlier that evening.
The BBC presenter made several jibes about the former PM throughout the programme, including opening the show by referencing Johnson's resignation.
"After being found by the House of Commons committee to have lied repeatedly, Boris Johnson takes the opportunity to deny that he's ever been jogging or has a dog," Myrie quipped over footage of Johnson running with his dog Dilyn.
The concern is understood to have been related to Myrie's back-to-back appearances on Have I Got News for You and straight on to the the late news bulletin.
Speaking to The Times, an insider said: "There wasn't a specific joke which triggered the request.
"It was more to do with concerns that Clive was doing two very different types of programme within an hour of each other. There was possibly a bit of over-caution, which felt a bit over the top to most people in news."
Meanwhile, a BBC executive said of the situation: "It didn't feel right for Clive to go almost straight to the news when he'd just been making jokes.
"It was a tonal thing rather than due to anyone being overly anxious."