Radio host Jeremy Vine ‘apologises’ for playing Beyoncé’s ‘hit amid criticism over ‘crumbling’ RAAC concrete

Popular radio presenter Jeremy Vine has ‘apologised’ for his choice of music after criticising the government over the ‘crumbly’ concrete that saw the closure of a huge number of schools across England and Wales ahead of the start of the new school year.

The Radio 2 presenter, went on live on Monday (September 4) to talk about the school buildings plagued by reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC) - the cheap lightweight alternative to traditional concrete mixes used in thousands of UK public buildings from the 1950s to 1990s, which represented “a critical risk to life” due to its 30-year lifespan.

“...France has banned RAAC concrete, we accept it. That says it all. The successive government in this country have been incapable of keeping our kids safe…,” he said, before playing one of Beyoncé’s hits, Halo.

Halo’s lyrics begin with: “Remember those walls I built? Well, baby, they’re tumblin’ down. And they didn’t even put up a fight, they didn’t even make a sound.”

An X (formerly Twitter) user, who spotted the hilarious bit of the show, posted the recording and said: “Almost crashed the car when I heard (wait for the song). Still deciding whether the music scheduler should be sacked or given a pay rise.” The post has received over 12,000 likes.

Vine then reposted the post, confirming it had been his choice of song. He wrote: “This is on me. Apologies everyone.” His followers then praised his choice of music, with many thanking him for the ‘good laugh’.

One said: “Please don’t apologise - I’m sure no offence was intended, but it was the best laugh I’ve had in ages.” Another said: “That’s just funny, anyone who doesn’t think so should head to the meeting point located just below the raac sign to get a petition started.”

The government has come under fire for not acting soon enough after more than 100 schools across the country were ordered to close immediately over safety fears.

So far, 156 schools have been found to contain the concrete - a number that could rise once inspections have been carried out on all schools - with 104 being ordered to be vacated and restricted until mitigations have been put in place.

Pressure has also piled on the government after it was revealed on Monday (September 4) by Jonathan Slater, the Department for Education’s top civil servant from 2016 to 2020, that a request to replace up to 400 schools was first slashed to 100 by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, and then in the next year’s funding round to just 50.