Ofcom has no power to fine individuals

Ofcom has reportedly revealed that a change in law would be needed if Russell Brand and Jonathan Ross were to pay a £150,000 fine levied against the BBC for the Manuelgate storm.

Cabinet Minister Hazel Blears said that the presenters should be forced to stump up the cash for the prank calls to Andrew Sachs, termed by the regulator as "gratuitously offensive, humiliating and demeaning".

An Ofcom spokesman said: "Parliament decided for very serious breaches of our broadcasting rules the BBC would be subject to a maximum fine of £250,000.

"These powers only allow for fines to be levied against the BBC and not individuals, to do so would require a change in the law."

Brand and Ross left a series of lewd messages on the Fawlty Towers star's answerphone during an edition of Brand's BBC Radio 2 show in October 2008, prompting thousands of complaints to the broadcasting regulator. Brand has admitted that he felt guilty when he heard that Sachs had been hurt by the calls.