'Send the kid to Brussels!': Reporter upstaged by biscuit-demanding son

A Sky News journalist has been upstaged by her young son asking for a snack as he interrupted a live cross from their home, bringing it to an abrupt end.

Foreign Affairs editor Deborah Haynes, forced to work from her Kent home in the UK amid the coronavirus pandemic, was live on air discussing the new security laws that have passed in Hong Kong this week when her son barged in to the room and impatiently requested a sugary treat.

"David Cameron was talking about... Oh I'm really sorry, that's my son arriving, really embarrassed, sorry," she explains.

All of a sudden her son’s arm appears across her chest, tapping her as he asks: “Can I have two biscuits?”

As a calm and collective Haynes tells him to hold on, he asks again and she grants permission to have the biscuits.

“I’m really sorry about that,” she says as the broadcast returns to host Mark Austin in the studio.

Austin appeared less than amused, telling viewers “that’s what happens in lockdown”.

“Yes, OK, we’ll leave Deborah Haynes in full flow there with some family duties,” he says.

The clip was quickly circulated on social media, with hundreds loving the child’s gatecrashing antics.

“ABSOLUTE SCENES ON SKY NEWS!” broadcaster Scott Bryan wrote on Twitter while sharing the video, garnering more than 30,000 likes.

Many praised the boy for his negotiating skills.

“Send the kid to Brussels to lead the biscuit negotiations. Let's get biscuits done,” one person joked.

“He knew what he was doing - gaining leverage in the snack negotiations. If mum hadn't been on the telly, he'd have ended up with a piece of fruit. Two biscuits - great result,” another analysed.

Sky News criticised over ‘condescending’ shutdown

Yet others were disappointed in the way the situation was handled by Austin, saying Haynes was in control of the situation.

“She was multi-tasking just fine and had resolved the whole thing. Did he really cut off the interview at the point when the biscuit negotiation had already been concluded?” one person asked.

“What a miserable presenter,” one person said.

Another called Austin’s shutdown “patronising and condescending” while others questioned whether the same would have happened if the journalist was male.

The live cross came the same day as Dr Clare Wenham who was being interviewed on the BBC News Channel when her daughter marched in the room and began trying to place a picture of a unicorn on a shelf.

BBC presenter Christian Fraser begins to talk to her daughter Scarlett, telling her he thinks the “lovely unicorn picture” looks better on the lower shelf.

The young girl then demands to know the name of the person her mother is talking to, to which Fraser responds: “My name’s Christian”.

She then asks for her mum to tell her where she would prefer the picture to go.

“This is the most informative interview I’ve had all day,” Mr Fraser comments.

Several social media users suggested Sky News should have handled their impromptu visit in the same manner as the BBC.

“BBC wins again. Pure class,” one person wrote.

The videos evoke memories of Korean expert Professor Robert Kelly who was interrupted by his two children in 2017.

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