"I hope the @thetimes will apologise to the relatives of the recently dead in #Nepal for describing the #UK #election2015 as an earthquake"

Cripes! (or given the recent success of the SNP maybe that should be 'Crivens!').

Whether it's down to Murdochophobia or merely BBC prissiness, here's one heck of a bizarre tweet from BBC old-timer Hugh Sykes:

I hope the @thetimes will apologise to the relatives of the recently dead in #Nepal for describing the #UK #election2015 as an earthquake.

— HughSykes (@HughSykes) May 9, 2015

At least Hugh is willing to engage with his critics (i.e. B-BBC's irresistible force, DB):

DB ‏@4d2b 

DB retweeted HughSykes

WTF? 

HughSykes ‏@HughSykes 

@4d2b lazy insensitive metaphorising - ditto @guardian and probably others too.

DB ‏@4d2b  

@HughSykes Prissy and over-sensitive - expect it from the trigger-word babies who inhabit our universities nowadays, not a veteran newsman.

HughSykes ‏@HughSykes  

@4d2b #Nepal is so recent, I saw the word & thought of the dead. 'Prissy'? I remember helping get blankets to #Iran 1963 quake -12,000 dead.

DB ‏@4d2b  

@HughSykes I didn't expect to see this ridiculous trigger-word thing emerging from US academia into our media for a few years. I was wrong.

DB ‏@4d2b  

@HughSykes You were offended by a word - unrelated to the topic at hand - & want an apology. But you helped with blankets in 1963. Oh, OK.

HughSykes ‏@HughSykes  

@4d2b I think journalists should choose their words carefully, while thinking of others.

DB ‏@4d2b  

@HughSykes I think senior journalists shouldn't act like the overly-sensitive authoritarian word police of the modern-day campus.

HughSykes ‏@HughSykes 

@4d2b simply commenting not policing, and thanks for senior. Oh and for veteran!

DB ‏@4d2b  

@HughSykes re "veteran" and "senior" I was worried "old" might trigger you!


Update: Will Hugh be having words with one of his regular BBC Twitter-buddies, BBC News at Ten's Julia MacFarlane?:

Demonstrates how the earthquake and tsunami metaphors for #SNP surge aren't exactly exaggerations. Via @benrileysmith pic.twitter.com/ppgZEYWfea

— Julia Macfarlane (@juliamacfarlane) May 9, 2015

Julia herself, meanwhile, has been busy in the last few hours re-tweeting the Israel-hating Electronic Intifada and, yes, some Murdoch-bashing piece. Views hers, of course.