Complaint at mosque TV exposé thrown out

Published on Tuesday 20 November 2007 00:47

THE media watchdog yesterday rejected complaints by a police force about a Channel 4 undercover programme that exposed extremism in British mosques.

West Midlands Police claimed the Dispatches programme had misrepresented the views of Muslim preachers and clerics with misleading editing.

Following yesterday's ruling by Ofcom, the broadcaster called the force's actions "perverse" and said it had, in some people's eyes, given legitimacy to people preaching hate.

The programme, Undercover Mosque, it said, uncovered matters of important public interest.

"Ofcom found no evidence the broadcaster misled the audience or the programme was likely to encourage or incite criminal activity.

"On the evidence, Ofcom found the broadcaster had accurately represented the material it had gathered and dealt with the subject matter responsibly and in context."

The programme featured recordings of speakers alleged to be homophobic, anti-Semitic, sexist and condemnatory of non-Muslims.