BBC APOLOGIZES OVER RACIAL SLUR USED IN NEWS REPORT. BBC director general Tony Hall has apologised and said a mistake was made after a news report containing a racial slur was broadcast last month. The BBC initially defended the use of the slur…. Lord Hall said he now accepts the BBC should have taken a different approach. The use of the N-word in the broadcast prompted widespread criticism. On Saturday, BBC Radio 1Xtra DJ Sideman – real name David Whitely – quit the station over the row.