Crunch cancels black Baftas

Britain's "black Baftas" have been called off because of the financial crisis.

The Screen Nation Awards 2008 will not go ahead as planned at the London Hilton on Sunday.

The ceremony, which is dedicated to championing black performers, was due to honour stars including Whoopi Goldberg and Don Warrington.

But the organisers faced a 30 per cent cut in funding when an unnamed partner was hit by the economic slowdown.

The nominees included Lennie James for the Channel 4 drama Fallout, about a murder similar to that of teenager Stephen Lawrence.

Performers in the music categories included Estelle and Leona Lewis.

Charles Thompson, who founded the awards six years ago protesting that black performers were not receiving appropriate recognition in traditional award shows, is now looking for alternative backers.