Jeremy Paxman’s Biblical references did offend

Comments by Jeremy Paxman in which he called the Bible’s Book of Genesis “hogwash” during Newsnight have been ruled offensive by the BBC Trust.

The presenter also referred to those with a literal belief in the Old Testament as “stupid”. The Trust’s Editorial Standards Committee decided the terms were offensive and there was “no clear editorial purpose” for their use.

It was accepted he did not aim to cause offence. He made the comments during an item about Richard Dawkins’s book, The Magic of Reality: How We Know What’s Really True.