Gaunt 'disappointed' over sacking

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Talksport host Jon Gaunt has said he is "bemused" by the radio station's decision to sack him for calling a local councillor a "Nazi" live on air.

"I am particularly disappointed by their decision when I apologised for the incident to both the audience and the councillor," Gaunt said.

During their exchange, Gaunt also called Redbridge councillor Michael Stark an "arrogant pig".

They had been debating the authority's decision to ban smokers from fostering.

Content and nature

"The councillor has accepted my apology and agrees that we all need to focus on the bigger picture - children in care," he said.

"I have received tremendous support from hundreds of fans as well as national celebrities following this story and my views remain the same."

Gaunt, who spent time in care as a child, insisted he would continue to campaign for children in need of help.

He said the "main issue" was not his job loss, but the "thousands of kids in care who don't have a voice".

"So if someone wants to smoke but will offer a child care, why shouldn't they be allowed to look after children?" he asked on his website.

"If I have to lose my job and go through a legal battle to be able to stand up for children in care, so be it.

"I have been there. I know the emotional trauma they are going through. It happened to me when I was in care.

"If I am guilty of anything, it is that I have stood by my principles. I regret the words used but not the passion behind them."

On Tuesday, a Talksport spokesman said "complaints about the content and nature of the broadcast" had prompted the station's decision.

During the debate, Mr Stark defended the ban, due to take effect in 2010, by saying that children's welfare should be put ahead of the needs of foster families.

Gaunt argued that children could be deprived of chances to be fostered.

The broadcaster is a former BBC radio presenter, winning three Sony Radio Academy Awards in 2001 while at BBC Three Counties Radio.