Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy called the broadcast of the slur “completely unacceptable and harmful”, adding she had spoken to director general Tim Davie and that the “BBC must ensure that this never happens again”.
The BBC has apologised and called what happened “a serious mistake”, saying Davie has instructed the Executive Complaints Unit (ECU) to “complete a fast-tracked investigation and provide a full response to complainants”.
Bafta said it wanted to “acknowledge the harm this has caused, address what happened and apologise to all”, adding that it wanted to “assure all our members that a comprehensive review is under way”.
I Swear collected three awards on the night, with best actor and rising star going to Robert Aramayo for his lead performance, as well as best casting.
Jones, who also directed Nanny McPhee and My Big Fat Wedding 2, told the newspaper he had assumed the slur would not be broadcast, and went on to celebrate the film’s win that evening.
He only learned it had been aired on TV when he saw his phone around 03:00 GMT, including messages from the US as the news reached it.
Jones said he “didn’t sleep for two nights” after the ceremony was broadcast.
The broadcast generated global headlines and much commentary on what happened and and how it could have been prevented.
He said he “understands both sides of the argument”, but that the slur should not have been broadcast in the first place.
Oscar winner Jamie Foxx posted on Instagram earlier this week that the slur had been “unacceptable”.
Some people suggested online that Davidson, who was an executive producer on the film, should not have been invited to the ceremony. But Jones stressed: “The overriding irony is that this is the reason why we made the film in the first place.”
He continued: “People were saying things like, ‘He must be able to stop himself, he must be racist, otherwise he wouldn’t even be thinking of that word. He’s putting it on. It’s just a mask.’
“It just suddenly felt really old fashioned,” says Jones. “It felt like I’d gone back 20 years.”