Danny Baker’s tweet was wrong. But in time he should be forgiven

More than two decades have passed since I worked alongside Danny Baker on the original BBC Radio 5 breakfast show. I learned a lot from Baker, a presenter who was able to sound so informal on air and generous in drawing whoever was in the studio into whatever was happening. “Joshing”, he called it. As the newsreader I was there every day. His ‘long-suffering sidekick’, as I was once described. Clearly, I am not wholly objective. Working every morning with Danny Baker for several years has left me with a fondness and appreciation for the chap even though it is a long time since we last spoke. Other commentators, including his friend, Janet Street-Porter, writing in the Independent have covered Danny’s East End, working-class roots and his rashness but innate decency. Guardian columnist Gaby Hinsliff recounted movingly how Baker used humour in his own battle with cancer. But Hinsliff reminded us that there must always be a limit to where laughter can take us.