Slammed over 'autistic' comment

Frankie Boyle has been condemned after criticising 2,100 schoolchildren who formed the Olympic rings to raise money for charity.

In his column in the Sun, the comiuc dubbed the fundraising effort at Bay House School in Gosport, Hampshire, ‘the most autistic response to a global sporting event’.

And added: ‘For the kids of Gosport, learning how to stand bewildered in a blue jumper is all they need to qualify them for a life of working in 99p stores.’

The pupils earned themselves a place in the record books for their efforts, as well as £1,000 for charity.

Local MP Caroline Dinenage told the Portsmouth News she was ‘sickened’ by Boyle’s cynicism.

She said: 'It sickens me, these people who make a living and spend their lives being spiteful towards others to make money. It’s miserable and it’s pathetic.

‘The kids have got themselves a Guinness world record and nobody can take that away from them.'

One 14-year-old who took part added: ‘We were only trying to break a world record. I don’t know why he thought it was funny to poke fun at us.’

Headteacher Ian Potter added: '’The pride we feel in the young people of Bay House School raising a significant sum of money for the orphans of Malawi in their achievement of breaking a world record must not be lost.'

Published: 16 May 2012