BBC Breakfast's Jon Kay pauses to deliver 'upsetting' warning to viewers

Jon Kay stopped Wednesday's BBC Breakfast show to give a distressing content alert to viewers.

After returning from the weather segment, Jon Kay alongside Sally Nugent introduced an investigation segment regarding restraint methods used on young individuals in schools. The probe by the BBC delved into CCTV footage from Whitefield Special School in North London, revealing students being forcefully handled and put into isolation rooms, and even being restrained by the neck.

The unsettling footage was broadcast as part of the BBC's morning news piece. Prior to airing the clip, Jon paused to caution viewers about the distressing nature of the content they were about to see.

During the segment, Jon commented: "There have been calls for the immediate regulation of so-called calming rooms in special schools after a BBC investigation revealed CCTV footage of autistic children being shoved into padded rooms, restrained by the neck or even left alone sitting in vomit."

Sally followed up by stating: "A police investigation into the footage recorded at Whitefield Special School in north London between 2014 and 2017 ended this summer without any charges. The school said the new leadership found the footage after the rooms had been closed and shared it with the police.", reports the Express.

To round off their discussion, Jon remarked: "Noel Titheradge has this report, which I must warn you some of you might find upsetting."

Subsequently, the report presented the aforementioned footage, with the content as "jaw-dropping".

Neil remarked on his programme: "It's footage that has been described as jaw-dropping. Videos obtained by the BBC show autistic people being abused and neglected inside so-called calming rooms at a special school.

"Three years ago, we began investigating when 500 hours of footage was found at Whitefield school. Now we've obtained footage revealing the reality of abuse in the rooms before they were shut."

Deborah later shared her own heartbreaking account regarding her son Jamie, who appeared in the CCTV material.

"I saw them push him in the room, whack him in his back, flying on the floor, left in there very confused and frustrated, knowing he's going to be in there for a long time," she recounted, noting that he experienced his first ever epileptic fit following his confinement in those rooms.

*BBC Breakfast airs on BBC One and BBC iPlayer from 6am.