Presenter Mike Parry under fire for saying 'minorities have to be squashed'

Watch: Mike Parry makes incendiary statement about 'minorities'

Journalist Mike Parry has been slated by viewers after saying that “minorities have to be squashed" during an appearance on the Jeremy Vine show.

The journalist made the comment during a discussion about the Insulate Britain protesters who have caused chaos on motorways in recent weeks.

Vine had been questioning whether the protesters should be removed from the roads if they had superglued their hands to the Tarmac, and guest Yasmin Alibhai-Brown said she didn’t agree, saying some of these types of things had to be put up with in a free society.

Read more: Jeremy Vine says having coronavirus was 'like meeting Elvis'

But Parry replied: “Not to the detriment of millions of other people. The problem in this country in all areas is that minorities always get the upper hand because we're so tolerant."

Slapping his hand down on the table, he added: "And minorities have to be squashed like that!"

“So the rest of society can operate normally,” he added.

People started to share their reaction online after a clip of the incident started circulating.

Many were stunned, with one calling Parry's remark “utterly deplorable” .

“This is just dreadful,” said another, while one person posted: “Mike Parry being allowed to say this on national TV is a disgrace.”

“As someone who is from a minority background, this is chilling,” another viewer tweeted.

However, Parry has now attempted to set the record straight, saying his words were aimed at the motorway protesters and “other minority groups who've had a disproportionate effect on life".

He tweeted: “1. Can I explain please the context of my comment on the @JeremyVineOn5 show this morning: 'Minorities have to be squashed' It sounds brutal in isolation but it was directly aimed at the M25 protesters and OTHER minority groups who've had a disproportionate effect on life."

He continued: "2. Before today's show we were discussing wind power/energy sources .. a story we covered .. and I expressed the view: 'Fracking could have saved this country from relying on overseas energy .. but once again a tiny minority of protesters stopped it happening. Why? It's mad'."

"3. I do not regard anybody who is not my religion, creed or colour as a person in a minority group," he added.

"I'm not even aware that I live in a mixed race society. I just live in our society.

"To link my 'minorities' comment to ethnicity is just silly .. I don't think like that."

Vine is also said to have defended Parry in a tweet.

Read more: Eggheads was 'tricky' for BBC due to age of audience, says Jeremy Vine

He was quoted as saying: "This would have been totally unacceptable had Mike been referring to members of ethnic minorities. In fact this snippet does not make clear @mikeparry8 was actually talking about the eco-protesters who brought the M25 to a halt. He said they represented very few people in the UK."

Yahoo has contacted Parry and Channel 5 for comment.