Journo Fired for Ignoring Prince George's Birth Gets $65K

Not everyone was swept up by Royal Baby fever back in 2013, but not everyone lost their job for ignoring the birth of Prince George, either. A little bit of satisfaction and about $65,000 now belongs to Chandana Keerthi Bandara, a former producer for the BBC's Sri Lankan news service who was fired after he opted to not cover the birth of Prince William and Kate Middleton's first child when he came to work the day after the blessed event, prioritizing instead coverage of the 30th anniversary of Sri Lanka's Black July. Told to publish something about the wee Windsor child, Bandara initially refused, then put something up about noon. That earned him disciplinary proceedings, a verdict of gross misconduct, and a final written warning, reports the Telegraph.

When another allegation was made a year later, Bandara was sent packing after 18 years on the job. He sued the BBC for unfair dismissal and racial discrimination, and a tribunal has now found that that final written warning was unfair and contributed to his firing, though no racial discrimination occurred. "The BBC takes disciplinary matters very seriously and we are disappointed with the outcome of this unfair dismissal claim," a rep tells the Independent, which notes the rep "could not specify why" the BBC was disappointed. (Prince George is apparently a bit of a rascal anyway.)