Journalist apologises for killing off Queen Elizabeth

The queen was, in fact, at the hospital for her annual check-up, and was soon back at Buckingham Palace. File photo
Image by: ANDREW YATES / REUTERS

A BBC journalist is facing disciplinary action after sending a tweet saying Queen Elizabeth had died.

The corporation apologised after Ahmen Khawaja sent a tweet saying: "Queen Elizabrth has died [sic]: @BBCWorld".

It was sent during one of the corporation's regular rehearsals for royal deaths, but the BBC said the tweet was not connected to the exercise.

Khawaja had previously sent a tweet saying: "BREAKING: Queen Elizabeth is being treated at King Edward 7th Hospital in London. Statement due shortly ".

The queen was, in fact, at the hospital for her annual check-up, and was soon back at Buckingham Palace.

Khawaja's tweets were re-tweeted several times before she deleted them, tweeting: "False alarm: Have deleted previous tweets!"

She also said it was the result of a "silly prank" after her phone was left unattended, adding: "Apologies for upsetting anyone!"

The BBC said, "During a technical rehearsal for an obituary, tweets were mistakenly sent from the account of a BBC journalist saying that a member of the royal family had been taken ill. The tweets were swiftly deleted and we apologise for any offence."

Later the BBC said the tweets were unconnected to the rehearsal.