BBC apologises for Antony Gormley Brexit blunder

It looked like another case of bad Brexit news: one of Britain’s most famous artists was giving up his passport as a result of Britain’s departure from the EU. That, at least, was how the BBC reported the story about the ‘Angel of the North’ artist Sir Antony Gormley. On BBC One’s main news bulletin over the Jubilee weekend, the BBC reported that:

‘Sir Anthony said he was giving up his British passport because of the UK’s decision to leave the European Union.’

But there was a problem: it wasn’t true. Gormley isn’t giving up his British nationality. And while, as a dual national, he is applying for a German passport, he is keeping hold of his British passport, despite the claims made by the BBC.

Now, the BBC has apologised for its mistake:

‘We reported that the acclaimed British sculptor Sir Antony Gormley is to become a German citizen. We said he was giving up his British passport because of the UK’s decision to leave the European Union and that he had described the move as embarrassing and had plans for new sculptures that would reflect his view.