Frankie Boyle

Comedian Frankie Boyle's jokes are vile and offensive but not racist , his lawyer told a High Court jury as he began legal proceedings against the publisher of the Daily Mirror newspaper.

Boyle is suing Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN) for what he described as a very serious libel over an article published in July last year.

The Daily Mirror had claimed that an offensive joke about the Olympic medal-winning swimmer Rebecca Adlington had led to his departure from the BBC Two panel show in an article that bore the subheading New show for vile comic , and began: Racist comedian Frankie Boyle could soon be returning to TV despite upsetting thousands of viewers with his sick jokes, which was published by the newspaper in July last year.

Boyle's barrister David Sherborne said that to call someone racist was obviously defamatory , and contended the comedian did not object to being criticised but would not stand to be described as racist.

It is believed lawyers acting for the Mirror Group will defend the article by stating they believe that the accusation of racism is true. The court heard that the publisher intends to use 12 examples of Boyle's jokes, mostly from his former Channel 4 show Tramadol Nights , to show that the racism allegation is true.

Update: Libel Boil Lanced

23rd October  2012. From  scotsman.com

Frankie Boyle has won more than £ 54,000 damages after a High Court jury concluded that he had been libelled by the Daily Mirror who defamed him by describing him as racist and saying he had been forced to quit the BBC panel show, Mock The Week.

Jurors ruled in favour of Boyle yesterday, after a week-long trial in London. They awarded him a total of £ 54,650 damages.

Boyle onfirmed that he would donate the money to charity and said on Twitter:

I'm very happy with the jury's unanimous rejection of the Mirror's allegation that I am a racist. Racism is still a very serious problem in society, which is why I've made a point of being anti-racist in my life and work and that's why I brought this action.

Channel 4 has parted company with controversial Scots comic Frankie Boyle.

The station has confirmed it will not commission a second series of Boyle's famous sketch show Tramadol Nights .

Boyle insisted he had no regrets over controversial content. The programme sparked about 500 complaints, and was criticised by MPs and nutters after the comedian made a controversial remark about Katie Price's disabled son Harvey.

The broadcaster also says the Glaswegian's planned chat show will now not be screened. A pilot episode of Frankie Boyle's Rehabilitation Programme was filmed late last year but the channel decided not to proceed any further.

The unscreened television venture was meant to feature Boyle being confronted by celebrities and members of the public who attempt to change his uncompromising world view in a series of funny, informed debates . Speaking last year about the proposed pilot, Channel 4's head of comedy Shane Allen said: It's very much like Parkinson or Wogan, but with paedo jokes.

The boss of Channel 4 has refused to apologise for airing a joke about Katie Price's disabled son.

At a heated parliamentary hearing, David Abraham was condemned for the decision to show it. But although he was repeatedly asked to apologise, he did not. Abraham said we only ever had satirical intent .

The joke about the former glamour model Jordan's son was made by Scottish comedian Frankie Boyle on his Tramadol Nights series last year.

At a meeting of the Culture Media and Sport Committee, Tory MP Louise Bagshawe, repeated the joke and told Abraham: This is a disabled little boy we are talking about. I am bewildered you can sit here and say that it is challenging political correctness -- and that you will not apologise to the little boy for having put him on a television programme in this context. Surely no cultural remit could ever possibly justify such a joke?

Channel 4's chairman Lord Burns, also at the hearing, said: Personally, if it has caused distress to the son, then obviously I'm very sorry.

Frankie Boyles Tramadol Nights (Katie Price joke)
Channel 4, 7 December 2010, 22:00

Tramadol Nights was a six-part comedy series which was written by and featured the controversial, alternative comedian Frankie Boyle. The series featured the comedian in various stand-up and comedy sketches which covered topics such as AIDS, cancer, religion, racism, sex, paedophilia, rape, incest, war and disability.

In the second episode of the series Frankie Boyle made various comments about the former glamour model and reality TV personality, Katie Price (formerly known as Jordan), and her eight year-old son, Harvey, who is known to have a medical condition and learning difficulties.

Frankie Boyle said:

Apparently Jordan and Peter Andre [Katie Price's ex-husband] are fighting each other over custody of Harvey. Well eventually one of them will have to lose and have to keep him.

I have a theory that Jordan married a cage fighter [Alex Reid, Katie Price's second husband] because she needed someone strong enough to stop Harvey from fucking her.

Solicitors acting on behalf of Katie and Harvey Price complained to Ofcom that the comments were discriminatory, offensive, demeaning and humiliating. The solicitors informed Ofcom that Harvey has a condition called septo-optic dysplasia, and is also on the autistic spectrum. The solicitors stated that Harvey has very restricted sight, needs constant medication and has learning difficulties. Harvey, as a result of his condition and medication is large and strong for his age .

Ofcom also received approximately 500 complaints about the comments, including, from the learning disability charity Mencap and from the Royal London Society for the Blind. In summary, the complainants stated that it was highly offensive, discriminatory and abusive to broadcast these comments about an eight year-old disabled child. The complainants were also offended that the comments named a child as engaging in rape and incest.

Ofcom considered:

• Rule 2.1 Generally accepted standards must be applied to the contents of television and radio services so as to provide adequate protection for members of the public from the inclusion in such services of harmful and/or offensive material.
• Rule 2.3 In applying generally accepted standards broadcasters must ensure that material which may cause offence is justified by the context (see meaning of context below). Such material may include, but is not limited to, offensive language, violence, sex, sexual violence, humiliation, distress, violation of human dignity, discriminatory treatment or language (for example on the grounds of age, disability, gender, race, religion, beliefs and sexual orientation). Appropriate information should also be broadcast where it would assist in avoiding or minimising offence.

Ofcom Decision: In breach

Ofcom was of the view that the material in question appeared to directly target and mock the mental and physical disabilities of a known eight year-old child who had not himself chosen to be in the public eye. As such, Ofcom found that the comments had considerable potential to be highly offensive to the audience.

It is important to note that the Code does not prohibit the broadcast of offensive or potentially offensive material, but requires that it is justified by the context.

Channel 4 argued that the comments were wholly justified in the context because it gave careful consideration to the broadcast of the series in advance and applied a number of measures to ensure its content complied with the Code.

We noted that Frankie Boyle is an established comedian, who has appeared on a number of comedy television programmes. He is also well known for his controversial and provocative humour, which often plays on his negative views of society and celebrities.

Further, we noted from Channel 4's statement that the programme was carefully considered by senior editorial staff and edited in advance of broadcast. We also noted that the programme had been scheduled to begin at 22:00 to lessen the risk of offence and was preceded by a clear warning to the audience about the very strong language and uncompromising adult content which some viewers will find offensive.

Ofcom considered that, even taking into account contextual factors such as the nature of the series as a whole, its scheduling, publicity and the clear pre-transmission warning, these comments went beyond what would have been expected by the majority of viewers of a late night comedy show broadcast on Channel 4.

Therefore, in view of the particular circumstances of this case, Ofcom concluded that on balance, the context of this programme was not sufficient to justify the broadcast of this material.

However, in view of the careful consideration Channel 4 took in the broadcast of the series overall, Ofcom concluded that the broadcaster was clearly aware of its responsibilites under the Code and had attempted to comply with the Code's requirements. Taking into account the challenging and provocative nature of the content of the Tramadol Nights series overall, Ofcom did not consider that these breaches demonstrated a fundamental failure of Channel 4's compliance procedures. Rather, in Ofcom's view, this case involved an erroneous decision on a matter of editorial judgement on the broadcaster's part.

Breaches of Rules 2.1 and 2.3

Complaints about the rest of the series

Frankie Boyles Tramadol Nights (mental health sketch and other issues)
Channel 4, 30 November 2010 to 29 December 2010, 22:00

Introduction

The second episode of the series included a sketch which showed a man calmly talking to camera, in what appears to be his kitchen. He said the following:

I have mental health problems. There's a lot of stigma attached to mental health, a lot of people are unfairly stigmatised when their conditions allow them to lead perfectly normal lives.

The camera then pulls out to reveal the man holding a knife and images of his dead wife and three dead children covered in blood on the floor. He then says:

Who the fuck am I talking to?

Ofcom received eight complaints about the broadcast of this sketch, including a complaint from the mental health charity, Rethink. The complaints raised concerns that the sketch inferred that people with mental illness are violent; promoted discrimination against people with mental illness; mocked people with mental illness; and was misleading.

Ofcom Decision: Not in breach

In this case, the sketch depicted a man talking to the camera who explained: I have mental health problems . He then talked about how many people with mental health problems are unfairly stigmatised by others when, in fact, ...their conditions allow them to lead perfectly normal lives . The sketch ends as the camera reveals that the man is in fact a violent murderer.

Ofcom considered that some viewers may have understood the sketch, on its face, to have been mocking people with mental health problems by inferring that they are likely to have violent tendencies. Taken in this sense, Ofcom accepted that the sketch had the potential to cause offence in that it appeared to seek to derive humour from ridiculing people with mental health issues and reinforcing stereotypes about them.

However, Ofcom noted Channel 4's submission that intention of this particular sketch was in fact to satirise an established public campaign Time to Change , which aimed to stop discrimination against people with mental health problems. Further, Channel 4 argued that the sketch set out to reverse the concept of the original campaign, which attempted to challenge the stereotype that those with mental health conditions are violent.

Ofcom was of the view that the Time to Change campaign itself was unlikely to be widely enough known to the audience for the sketch's particular intention to be clear to viewers. However, Ofcom considered that, whilst the material had the potential to cause offence, most viewers would have been likely to understand the nature of the sketch, and importantly, that its intention was not to ridicule those who have mental health problems, but to target public information campaigns of this nature, and society's unease about dealing frankly with the subject of mental health.

Ofcom considered that the intention of this sketch -- to use satire and controversy to make a joke about society's attitudes to mental health - would have been well understood by the majority of the audience. Ofcom also considered that the sketch would not have gone beyond what would normally be expected in a programme of this type, particularly taking into account the nature of other material in the series which also frequently used satire and controversy to derive humour from society as a whole, or its attitudes to particular issues.

On balance, we therefore concluded that the broadcast of the material was justified by the context, and the sketch was therefore not in breach of Rule 2.3.

Further, we found that Channel 4 had applied generally accepted standards so as to provide adequate protection for members of the public from this material, which was therefore not in breach of Rule 2.1.

Other issues raised about the series

Ofcom also received complaints from viewers which raised a number of other issues about the content of the series. In summary, the complainants were offended by certain content, which included: references to AIDS and cancer; references to Jesus and religious dress; comments about rape and paedophiles; sketches about a quadriplegic stuntman; and the involvement of children in a sketch which included swearing, sexual abuse and violence.

Ofcom assessed these complaints and the relevant content of the series. In view of the nature of this late night comedy series, and the other relevant contextual factors about the series as a whole (as set out above), Ofcom concluded that the material did not raise any issues under the Code.

Ofcom also received approximately 70 complaints from viewers who were offended by the inclusion of what they considered to be racist language in the series. Complainants referred, in particular, to the broadcast of language such as paki , nigger and black pussy .

Ofcom viewed the relevant content of the series and noted that in all cases when language of this nature was used it was clearly positioned as observational comedy, which targeted the views and attitudes of society rather than particular black and minority ethnic communities. The language was always presented as a reflection on a character he was playing.

Ofcom concluded that the material was clearly editorially justified and in keeping with audience expectations for this late night comedy programme. The content was therefore justified by its context, and Channel 4 applied generally accepted standards in its broadcast.

Not in breach of Rules 2.1 or 2.3

Comment: Background

12th April 2011. From Andrew

For those of you outside of the UK (the only country apparently willing to put up with her shit), Katie price is a former glamour model also known as Jordan. Long story short, this woman has been married 3 times in the same amount of years, and is popularly known as an egotistical, materialistic, media whore. Yet now, like so many people in her position, the boot has switched feet, and the own medicine is not liked.

Katie Price is now moaning about Scottish comedian Frankie Boyle making a derogatory compliment out her heavily disabled son, Harvey. Price herself, has milked this disablement to her advantage over during the tenure of her sons life, to not only win magazine covers, but also to the point that she has been publically made out to be a wonderful mother.

Ok, so onto Frankie Boyle. The Scottish comedian is NOTORIOUS for jokes about taboo subjects, such as child molestation, racial bigotry, and rape. The chance that Price actually watched the show in question is very unlikely. Had the joke not been aimed at her she would have probably laughed along with everyone else. Anyway she has stated on more than one occasion that she doesn't understand upper class people or high brow humour.

Glamour model Katie Price has called for the sacking of the Channel 4 boss who allowed the broadcasting of a bad taste gag by comedian Frankie Boyle about her disabled son Harvey.

The reality TV star, real name Katie Price, has written to Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt claiming that David Abraham's position is completely untenable as chief executive of the official broadcaster for the 2012 Paralympics.

The show drew more than 500 complaints, including from Mencap and the Royal London Society for the Blind, who also called for Abraham to quit his job.

Frankie Boyle, the irreverent host of Channel 4 comedy series Tramadol Nights , may be the subject of an ongoing Ofcom investigation – but that hasn't stopped the channel commissioning the star to produce a new show.

The edgy star is now set to return to the screens, although it is expected Tramadol Nights itself will be discontinued.

Channel 4 have disregarded whinges from advertisers, charities and a handful of members ofthe public to moderate the language on Tramadol Nights .

During a routine on Wednesday's final episode, Boyle said: The Commonwealth Games were originally called The Empire Games, it basically started out as a huge slave race.

Adopting a posh voice he added: William, I think my niggers are quicker than yours.

L'Oreal and Nestle are pulling out from 4 on Demand over Frankie Boyle's Tramadol Nights show.

Beauty company L'Oreal are taking down their adverts from the 4 on Demand website where Boyle's show is available, the Daily Mirror revealed.

Nestle, which promotes its Nespresso coffee machine on the site, also said they will not renew their advertising contract.

A L'Oreal spokesman said: This is not language we condone and we are pulling the online advert.

A Nestle spokesman said: Nespresso offers its sincere apologies for any distress caused.

Frankie Boyle is now 9/4 to be sacked after bookmakers slashed odds from 5/1 - and he is 8/13 to issue an apology. A spokesman for Ladbrokes said: We think this could be the final straw. Even if he apologises the P45 could already be in the post.

Daily Mail hacks have been glued to their sets for another episode of Frankie Boyle's Tramadol Nights.

They spotted that:

During Tuesday night's show a female character was dressed up as sexualised Super Mario character and uttered the phrase: Hello to Pakis everywhere .

Later in the show he used the word again when talking about Western forces in Afghanistan before using the word n****r .

In the same episode there were also repeated jokes about women who wear burkas. He then added: All very funny till I get shot in the car park.

There were also jokes about Madeleine McCann, dead British soliders, as well as rape and the crossbow cannibal murders.

Vivienne Pattison of Mediawtch-UK was given a Christmas break from sound bite duty and instead the 'outrage' was provided by Mohammed Shafiq, chief executive of the Ramadhan Foundation who said the scenes were disgusting . If he has used those words on a public broadcaster it is abhorrent. People at home watching that will think that this sort of language terminology is acceptable in the 21st century.

Update: Whittering On

24th December 2010. Based on article from  metro.co.uk

The Daily Mail have caused a little interest from a serial sound bite nutter.

MP John Whittingdale, chairman of the House of Commons Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee, slammed Frankie Boyle saying: The words nigger and Paki are deeply offensive to a large number of people. I don't think even in comedy it is justified.

He has written to the TV censor Ofcom, calling Boyle a serial offender.

Channel 4 is continuing to back to back Boyle. In response to complaints of racism, a spokesman said: Channel 4 would not have broadcast these words had they been used in a racist way. All the jokes highlight the unacceptable nature of this language. Boyle's cutting edge comedy aimed to ridicule and satirise the use of the controversial words, and Channel 4 would not have broadcast them if they been used in a racist way.

But maybe the viewers aren't quite so wound up. The Guardian notes: Media regulator Ofcom and Channel 4 are understood to have cumulatively received a handful of complaints about the broadcast.

Frankie Boyle is a comedian who has made a career from saying what a lot of people are thinking. That being said, his Channel 4 stand up / skit show Tramadol Nights , isn't great. Boyles stand up is considerably funnier, and more enjoyable than the fill in sketches. However, the material used in his stand up segments is actually quite dated (as far as his shows are concerned). Several jokes have been used before in (Boyles) break out BBC series Mock the week (especially this week, when a regularly used line, about his girlfriends sex face looking like their young son in pain). And last weeks Katie Price upsetting lines, have been used frequently in Boyles stand up shows. Yet she's never complained to the distributor of his DVDs.

HOWEVER. it is common knowledge that he pushes the envelope, and appears to deliberately set out to offend. Something Channel 4 has always embraced. But in my opinion, Channel 4 are not to blame. They're broadcasting the show after 11pm, and are openly admitting prior to any show that it may offend. What people don't seem to realise, is that the more they complain, and the more they give Boyle media highlights, the more we will see him on TV. Controversy sells. This show has had 2 of its 3 weeks of airtime in the public eye. Which almost certainly means that it will have a DVD release, previous stand up show DVDs will sell better and Boyle will cement himself as the comic of choice for many people.

Please don't misunderstand me. I don't find child molestation, incest or cancer funny. But the likes of Katie price (who decided she needed to be in the papers again), are some of the worst people in the celebrity limelight. If she's such a great parent why can you openly buy an amateur hardcore sex tape of her, that she ENDORSED, quite freely in the UK? If that's great parenting, my parents are saints.

In closing, we've seen this before. Granted, it's always been live (Shaun Ryder on TFI, Julian Clary stating on live TV he fisted Norman Lamont). The only people who are offended, are the people who watch, just to be offended.

Would these people buy porn if they were offended by it? Doubtful. Get over yourselves, and stop making Boyle more money.

N ow Frankie Boyle has targeted cancer victims on his Channel 4 comedy show Tramadol Nights .

In the third installment of his gratuitously offensive comedy show, the former Mock The Week star also mocked grandparents, obese people, Colombians and AIDS sufferers.

In his cancer gag, he said: I had a friend come up to me and say that she had breast cancer and that she was going to cycle the Great Wall Of China.

You feel like going you're the last person who should be cycling the Great Wall Of China! you should be lying at home in bed, playing with your tits before they drop off.

He added: 'I should add she doesn't mind me saying that. She's dead, she doesn't give a fuck.

A spokesperson for Breast Cancer Care meanwhile told MailOnline: Jokes about other people's life-threatening illnesses are a strange subject for humour, even for someone of Frankie's comic style, and it's a shame that anyone would think breast cancer is a legitimate subject for comedy.

Though people deal with illness in many different ways, it's unlikely that the 120 people diagnosed with breast cancer in the UK today will find this funny.

Talking to MailOnline today a Channel4 spokesperson said: We are aware that Frankie Boyle's comedy can be very challenging which is why we have gone to careful lengths in scrutinising the material editorially, in scheduling the series appropriately and by giving clear and strong warnings into each of the programmes.

Update: 500 Complaints

18th December 2010. Based on article from  dailystar.co.uk

500 viewers have complained to Ofcom about the Frankie Boyle's jokes about cancer. An Ofcom spokesman said: We will make our judgment in the new year.

Katie Price has again condemned Channel 4 for repeating Frankie Boyle's show containing a controversial joke he made about her disabled son.

Boyle said: Jordan and Peter Andre are still fighting each other over custody of Harvey - eventually one of them will lose and have to keep him.'

TV censor Ofcom has launched an investigation after Price accused the comic of being a bully in the wake of his comments about her son Harvey, who suffers from septo-optic dysplasia and autism, on his show Tramadol Nights .

In a statement, Price said:

By repeating Frankie Boyle's show, Channel 4 are embracing and exploiting discrimination. They are saying it is ok to ridicule people - even children - for disability in a way they would not dare over race or sexual orientation. The people who control the channel are endorsing this behaviour and it is disgusting. Even the fact that Ofcom are investigating the first broadcast has not made them divert from this path.

Head of Comedy, C4, Shane Allen said:

We are aware that Frankie Boyle's comedy can be very challenging which is why we have gone to careful lengths in scrutinising the material editorially, in scheduling the series appropriately and by giving clear and strong warnings into each of the programmes . We think that it is important that a space on terrestrial TV exists for comedy that takes risks and pushes boundaries and we stand by our original decision to broadcast the programme.

Boycott

Based on article from dailystar.co.uk

Katie Price is urging fans to boycott sick comic Frankie Boyle's Christmas DVD over his jokes about her disabled son.

His latest DVD, Frankie Boyle Live 2: If I Could Reach Out Through Your TV and Strangle You I Would repeats the sick jokes and also sees him making fun of Baby P, soldiers in Afghanistan and the Lockerbie air disaster.

I hope no-one buys it. I also hope that with hindsight, and knowledge of the content, that retailers will withdraw it from sale.

The model and reality TV star Katie Price is threatening legal action against Channel 4 after comedian Frankie Boyle made a vile joke about her disabled son.

Price last night said she had asked her lawyers to write to the broadcaster on her son's behalf. Boyle made the comments about Price's son, Harvey, on his Tramadol Nights show. Harvey, 8, suffers from septo-optic dysplasia and autism.

To bully this unbelievably brave child is despicable; to broadcast it on television is to show a complete and utter lack of judgment, Price said in a statement on her website.

Harvey Price is a little miracle. Every day he overcomes so many difficulties with the help of family and medical experts and has so many tiny battles to win due to his medical problems. I have asked my lawyers to write to Channel 4 on Harvey's behalf.

A Channel 4 spokeswoman said: Frankie Boyle is one of the highest profile comedians in the UK. He's well known for his controversial humour and the programme carried appropriate warnings as to the nature of the material.

The joke aired in the context of a late-night comedy show. The joke itself has been performed by Frankie as part of his stage show and, as with much of his material, is an absurdist and satirical comment on high-profile individuals whose lives have been played out in the media.

Comedian Frankie Boyle has written an open letter slamming the BBC governing body's cowardly rebuke of his jokes about Palestine.

The BBC Trust's editorial standards committee apologised earlier this week over comments made by Boyle two years ago, comparing Palestine to a cake being punched to pieces by a very angry Jew .

In his letter, the former Mock The Week star said he had been moved to tears after watching a documentary about life in Palestine and had promised himself he would do something.

He said that the BBC wished to deliver the flavour of political comedy with none of the content , and also slammed the BBC's decision not to air a charity appeal for aid to Gaza last year. He said: It's tragic for such a great institution, but it is now cravenly afraid of giving offence and vulnerable to any kind of well-drilled lobbying.

Boyle made the remarks on Radio 4 show Political Animal. He said: I've been studying Israeli Army martial arts. I now know 16 ways to kick a Palestinian woman in the back.

Update: Open Letter to the BBC Trust

17th May 2010. See  article from  mpacuk.org

Obviously, it feels strange to be on the moral high ground but I feel a response is required to the BBC Trust's cowardly rebuke of my jokes about Palestine.

As always, I heard nothing from the BBC but read in a newspaper that editorial procedures would be tightened further to stop jokes with anything at all to say getting past the censors.

In case you missed it, the jokes in question are: I've been studying Israeli Army Martial Arts. I now know 16 ways to kick a Palestinian woman in the back. People think that the Middle East is very complex but I have an analogy that sums it up quite well. If you imagine that Palestine is a big cake, well…that cake is being punched to pieces by a very angry Jew.

I think the problem here is that the show's producers will have thought that Israel, an aggressive, terrorist state with a nuclear arsenal was an appropriate target for satire. The Trust's ruling is essentially a note from their line managers. It says that if you imagine that a state busily going about the destruction of an entire people is fair game, you are mistaken. Israel is out of bounds.

The BBC refused to broadcast a humanitarian appeal in 2009 to help residents of Gaza rebuild their homes. It's tragic for such a great institution but it is now cravenly afraid of giving offence and vulnerable to any kind of well drilled lobbying.

I told the jokes on a Radio 4 show called Political Animal. That title seems to promise provocative comedy with a point of view. In practice the BBC wish to deliver the flavour of political comedy with none of the content. The most recent offering I saw was BBC Two's The Bubble. It looked exactly like a show where funny people sat around and did jokes about the news. Except the thrust of the format was that nobody had read the papers. I can only imagine how the head of the BBC Trust must have looked watching that, grinning like Gordon Brown having his prostrate examined.

The situation in Palestine seems to be, in essence, apartheid. I grew up with the anti apartheid thing being a huge focus of debate. It really seemed to matter to everybody that other human beings were being treated in that way. We didn't just talk about it, we did things, I remember boycotts and marches and demos all being held because we couldn't bear that people were being treated like that.

A few years ago I watched a documentary about life in Palestine. There's a section where a UN dignitary of some kind comes to do a photo opportunity outside a new hospital. The staff know that it communicates nothing of the real desperation of their position, so they trick her into a side ward on her way out. She ends up in a room with a child who the doctors explain is in a critical condition because they don't have the supplies to keep treating him. She flounders, awkwardly caught in the bleak reality of the room, mouthing platitudes over a dying boy.

The filmmaker asks one of the doctors what they think the stunt will have achieved. He is suddenly angry, perhaps having just felt at first hand something he knew in the abstract. The indifference of the world. She will do nothing, he says to the filmmaker. Then he looks into the camera and says, Neither will you .

I cried at that and promised myself that I would do something. Other than write a few stupid jokes I have not done anything. Neither have you.

Frankie Boyle

The BBC Trust's editorial standards committee has issued an apology over a joke made by Frankie Boyle which compared Palestine with a cake being punched to pieces by a very angry Jew .

The committee, which acts as a final arbiter of appeals if complainants are unhappy with the response from BBC management, upheld a previous finding that the comment was inappropriate and offensive.

But it said that no further action is needed in the case.

Boyle made the remark on Radio 4 comedy sketch show Political Animal , broadcast almost two years ago in June 2008.

The Scottish comedian said: I'm quite interested in the Middle East, I'm actually studying that Israeli army martial arts. And I know 16 ways to kick a Palestinian woman in the back. It's a difficult question to understand. I've got an analogy which explains the whole thing quite well: If you imagine that Palestine is a cake - well, that cake is being punched to pieces by a very angry Jew.

A complainant wrote to the BBC Executive branding the comment disgusting and anti-Semitic.

Dissatisfied with the broadcaster's response, the complainant went to the editorial complaints unit, which is the next stage of the BBC's complaints process. But the complainant then went to the editorial standards committee as he felt that the remark had gone through the editorial process without ringing any alarm bells.

Olympic swimming champion Rebecca Adlington has formally complained to the BBC that it let comedian Frankie Boyle off with a slap on the wrist over jokes that caused her deep hurt.

The double gold medal winner at last year's Beijing Olympics has demanded an explanation from the BBC Trust over why it chose not to punish the comic for outrageous slurs that left her humiliated .

And her agent has called for the BBC to ban Boyle over his comments.

During an episode of BBC2's satirical show Mock the Week last year, soon after Miss Adlington's Olympic triumph, Boyle said she resembled someone looking at themselves in the back of a spoon and followed up with sexual innuendo.

The comments sparked 75 complaints, but although the BBC Trust criticised Boyle and agreed that his remarks were unfair and offensive it took no further action such as barring him from its programmes for a period.

Miss Adlington has now written to the Corporation, calling its rebuke no more than a slap on the wrist for comments which fell well below the standards of common decency . She questioned the effectiveness of the Trust's disciplinary process and called for the corporation to take greater responsibility for its stars.

The BBC Trust said last night it had received Miss Adlington's letter and would consider it, but added: At this stage we have no plans to review the finding .

Last Tuesday, the BBC Trust criticised the panel show Mock the Week because one of its stars, Frankie Boyle, joked about the facial features of Rebecca Adlington, the Olympic swimmer.

But even before the ban on derogatory gags, senior figures in comedy were expressing frustration at the BBC's increasing nervousness about humour. Take Jimmy Mulville, who runs the company that makes Have I Got News for You . At the Edinburgh Television Festival in August, Mr Mulville said it was becoming harder to get risqué jokes past the BBC's censors. My worry, he said, is that we're having our tastes set at a dial by the tabloid press.

...Read the full article

A joke about the Queen broadcast on BBC2's satirical panel show Mock the Week had been cleared by the corporation's TV censor.

Comedian Frankie Boyle joked that you would not hear the Queen say during her Christmas broadcast: I'm now so old that my p**** is haunted.

The episode had first been shown in 2007 but was repeated in October 2008 during the Jonathan Ross and Russell Brand furore.

A complainant said the joke was grossly offensive and added: It would have been objectionable at the best of times but coming as it did in the midst of the Ross and Brand controversy it was quite unforgivable.

An initial complaint to the BBC's management had been rejected saying that, while the joke was near the knuckle , it was in keeping with the show.

The viewer then took his complaint to the BBC Trust which also rejected the complaint, despite admitting the joke had sexist and ageist overtones .

Richard Tait, BBC trustee and chairman of the editorial standards committee, said the joke was well after the watershed, well signposted and within audience expectations for the show . He said: The committee did feel this joke was in bad taste - it had both sexist and ageist overtones.

However, a gag on a different episode of Mock the Week about Olympic swimmer Rebecca Adlington was deemed to have broken rules.

In August last year, Boyle said Adlington looks like someone who's looking at themselves in the back of a spoon . He also made a sexual innuendo about the gold medalists' love life, saying Adlington's boyfriend looked like a male model and continuing: So from that I have deduced that Rebecca Adlington is very dirty - I mean if you just take into account how long she can hold her breath...

One viewer told the BBC he was appalled .

The show's producer later responded to the complaint, saying the ribbing might have gone a tad too far and apologised.

The trust said that 75 complaints were received about the item, originally aired in the week that Team GB returned from the Olympic Games. It found that, while Adlington was a public figure, she had not courted media attention. The judgment said: The joke about her appearance and the sexual innuendo were humiliating and there was no demonstration of a clear editorial purpose for the inclusion of these comments.

The committee also noted that the commissioning editor had made her views known about preferring not to include the joke. It said it was concerned she appeared to have been unable to obtain the edits she would have preferred.

Mock The Week has been criticised for broadcasting jokes about the Queen.

Frankie Boyle was one of several comedians on the show asked to think of something the Queen would not say in her Christmas speech.

He put on a high-pitched voice and said: I have had a few medical issues this year - I'm now so old that my pussy is haunted.

Other comedians in the show also offered suggestions, including Hugh Dennis saying the Queen would not say: This year, I am in an unusual location - I am in a cave with Osama Bin Laden.

Dennis also offered the suggestion: Yum, yum, I've just eaten a swan.

Russell Howard said the Queen would not say: And now for an impression, before performing a version of Shaggy's reggae song Mr Boombastic.

John Beyer, of MediaWatch UK, told the Daily Mail: It is very offensive and should not have been broadcast. It is indicative of the sloppy way in which this kind of thing gets on air. There is a great deal of respect for the Queen and people do feel very strongly about any kind of disrespectful comments about her.

A BBC spokeswoman said the show was a well-established satirical comedy series which sometimes built on provocative humour.