Police complaints over Channel 4's Undercover Mosque have been branded "bizarre and extraordinary" by the channel's programming chief, Julian Bellamy.

Bellamy said that the maker of the documentary is reserving its posiiton and refused to be drawn on whether Channel 4 is considering suing the police.

West Midlands Police has has made a formal complaint to Ofcom over the documentary, although the Crown Prosecution Service has ruled out bringing charges related to incitement of racial hatred.

"I'd be totally proud to put my name to Undercover Mosque," said Bellamy, who joined the channel after the programme had been commissioned. "The police intervention is bizarre and extraordinary. I'm confident the programme will be vindicated."

He warned against lumping any issues over Mosque - which has faced criticisms of misleading splicing - into "a large monolithic blob of trust."

"Undercover Mosque is different from Queengate or sea bass. 24 hour news is intensely irritating because they lump it all together."