BBC Breakfast was interrupted on Sunday (March 23) as presenter Emily Wither made a “breaking news” announcement.

Ben Thompson and Luxmy Gopal were on the red sofa this morning to deliver the latest headlines from the UK and other parts of the world. Meanwhile, Sarah Keith-Lucas was on hand to deliver regular weather forecasts, with Gavin Ramjaun also on board to share the sports news.

During the show, Luxmy discussed the ongoing protests in Turkey, which began after the arrest of Istanbul’s mayor, Ekrem Imamoglu. The protests have become the largest demonstrations the country has seen in more than a decade.

“Protests have continued in Turkey for a fourth night, following the arrest of the Mayor of Istanbul, who’s seen as the main political rival to President Erdoğan,” Luxmy began.

“Ekrem Imamoglu was detained on Wednesday on corruption and terror charges. He was expected to be announced as a candidate in the next Presidential election in three years time,” she added, before handing over to BBC correspondent Emily Wither.

Speaking live from Istanbul, Emily then announced that the detained mayor of the city has been jailed pending a trial, which could see the protests grow considerably.

“I’ll just bring you some breaking news that we’ve had in the last couple of minutes while I’ve been waiting to come on air, which I think will mean that we’re going to see these protests grow a lot larger now. The detained mayor of Istanbul, Ekrem Imamoglu, has just been jailed pending a trial, so the prosecutor there will jail the detained mayor before he goes on trial,” she said.

“He was facing charges for terrorism and corruption, he’s called those charges unimaginable accusations and slander. He’s been held since Wednesday, he was questioned late into the night and people in this country have been bracing to hear what that decision will be, and we just heard that he will be jailed.”

Back in the studio, Luxmy concluded: “Emily, thank you for bringing us that breaking news there. Just to reiterate, the Mayor of Istanbul, who’s at the centre of these demonstrations in Turkey, he has just been jailed. That’s breaking news that’s come through from our reporter in Istanbul.”

Imamoglu’s imprisonment is widely regarded as a political move to remove a major contender from the next presidential race, which is currently scheduled for 2028.

The arrest comes as his opposition Republican People’s Party or CHP, began holding a primary presidential election to endorse the mayor as its presidential candidate, despite the arrest.

The party has also set up symbolic ballot boxes nationwide, called “solidarity boxes”, to allow people who are not party members to express their support to the mayor.

BBC Breakfast airs daily on BBC One at 6am