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C4 under fire for undercover mosque programme

08/08/2007

Police have made a formal complaint to media regulator Ofcom about a Channel 4 programme which went undercover in a mosque.

West Midlands police (WMP) investigated the Channel 4 Dispatches programme Undercover Mosque, which was broadcast in January 2007, after complaints that some parts of the show were offensive.

Concerns were raised about the way three speakers' comments were portrayed in the programme and police considered whether racial hatred could have been stirred up by it.

After referring the case to the crown prosecution service (CPS), WMP decided that there was insufficient evidence to bring charges against those individuals featured in the programme.

CPS reviewing lawyer Bethan David considered 56 hours of media footage, of which only a small part was used in the programme.

"The splicing together of extracts from longer speeches appears to have completely distorted what the speakers were saying," she said.

"The CPS has demonstrated that it will not hesitate to prosecute those responsible for criminal incitement. But in this case we have been dealing with a heavily edited television programme, apparently taking out of context aspects of speeches which in their totality could never provide a realistic prospect of any convictions."

Kevin Sutcliffe, commissioning editor for Dispatches at Channel 4, said the broadcaster was "confident" of successfully defending the show if Ofcom chooses to consider WMP's complaint.

"This was a thorough and detailed one-hour documentary, made over nine months, which allowed these comments to be seen in a fuller context. All the speakers featured in the film were offered a right to reply and none denied making these comments, nor have any of them complained to Ofcom to our knowledge," he said.

Responding to today's developments, the Muslim Council of Britain said the joint statement from WMP and the CPS would "reinforce the distrust with which many Muslims regard sections of our media".

"Channel 4 was fully aware of the sensitivities surrounding the subject matter, particularly its effect on community relations; however, we believe there was a greater public interest in exposing what was being preached in the name of Islam in some mainstream British mosques."

The Metropolitan police said this evening they were investigating the most recent Dispatches programme, which was broadcast on Monday.

Britain Under Attack, which seeks to probe "the roots of Islamic extremism in the UK", concludes that the government is making a mistake in not modifying its "radicalizing foreign policy".

A Met spokesperson said the programme was being assessed "to determine if any offences may have been disclosed".

"We will also be liaising with the CPS in due course," she added.

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