AS ONE who was born in the Royal London hospital in London’s East End and grew up proud of my working-class roots, the criticism that Lord Digby Jones spewed on Twitter about TV presenter and former Arsenal footballer Alex Scott at the weekend made my blood boil. I thought we were moving past that “jobs for boys” viewpoint.

Jones tweeted: “Enough! I can’t stand it any more! Alex Scott spoils a good presentational job on the BBC Olympics Team with her very noticeable inability to pronounce her ‘g’s at the end of a word. Competitors are NOT taking part, Alex, in the fencin’, rowin’, boxin’, kayakin’, weightliftin’ & swimmin’.”

His comments represent an issue of class prejudice deeply ingrained in the sports industry, where women are constantly picked apart and are treated differently to men. The media companies have struggled to give space to women as researchers, presenters, programme leaders, producers and directors.