Pressure grows on Ross over BBC fine

Cabinet minister Hazel Blears has backed calls for Jonathan Ross to pay the £150,000 fine imposed on the BBC over the Andrew Sachs scandal.

The chatshow host sparked thousands of complaints to Ofcom after leaving lewd messages on Sachs's answerphone in October 2008. The incident was broadcast on Russell Brand's Radio 2 show.

Ofcom announced the record penalty on Friday after finding that the prank was "gratuitously offensive, humiliating and demeaning".

Labour MP Gerald Kaufman, Liberal Democrat spokesman Don Foster and former BBC governor Lord Rees Mogg have already claimed that Ross should pay the fine to avoid programming cuts.

Speaking on Radio 4 yesterday, communities secretary Blears offered her backing to the suggestions, saying: "That might be quite a good idea."

Meanwhile, Brand has attempted to make light of the penalty, asking: "What do Ofcom do with all that money? I think they spend it all on porn."

Responding to the comment, an Ofcom spokesperson told The People: "The money goes straight to the Treasury so we don't even have it to spend."