HIGNFY 'kraut' joke slammed

The Daily Mail has highlighted yet another joke in its campaign provocative comedy on the BBC.

The newspaper reports that ‘critics’ – it doesn’t say who – have attacked the BBC’s ‘double standards’ over a gag on this weekend’s Have I Got News For You.

Commenting on potentially racist remarks that Prince Philip had made to an Indian businessman, host Miranda Hart joked: ‘There is no place for racism in the modern world and the sooner that Greek twit and his Kraut wife realise it, the better.’

Fifty of the show’s five million viewers have complained about the joke, according to the newspaper – although in a thread about the programme on the BBC’s Points Of View website, only one viewer mentioned it.

A BBC spokesman said: ' Have I Got News For You is a topical, satirical news quiz and as such tackles issues of the week in a comedic and challenging way. 

'The joke Miranda delivered was about abusive racist language following on from the news story that Prince Philip had made what were considered offensive remarks at a meeting of Indian representatives.'

The panelists had been talking about a Buckingham Palace event honouring Indian president Pratibha Patil when the Duke of Edinburgh had said to businessman Atul Patel: 'There's a lot of your family here tonight.'

Among the guests on the show were Andrew Neil, whose mention of ‘chocolate HobNobs’ in relation to MP Diane Abbot were last week considered so racist they were removed from the BBC’s iPlayer. It is the difference between the corporation’s treatment of that supposed gaffe and the Have I Got News For You joke that led to the Mail’s accusation of double standards.

Published: 4 Nov 2009