'Dispatches' editor defends 'Undercover Mosque'

Kevin Sutcliffe, commissioning editor for Dispatches at Channel 4, said today that the allegations of unfairness against a documentary featuring the views of Muslim extremists had no evidence to support them.

A formal complaint about the Dispatches programme has been made to Ofcom by West Midlands police, following an investigation.

The Crown Prosecution Service had been previously looking at the matter, and decided not to prosecute the broadcaster on grounds of incitement to racial hatred for airing the extremist views.There had been concerns that there had been a "splicing together of extracts from longer speeches" to distort what the speakers in the programme were saying.

It ruled that the documentary, Undercover Mosque, which was shown in January, featured content that "might have been considered offensive," but decided not to press criminal charges against the contributors.

In a statement from Channel 4 today Kevin Sutcliffe, commissioning editor, said: “West Midlands Police have made a very general allegation of unfairness against the programme and have produced no evidence to support their claims; we find it extraordinary that they have gone public on these concerns without discussing them with us first."

"We believe the comments made in the film speak for themselves – several speakers were clearly shown making abhorrent and extreme comments; many of these comments were made in DVDs and in internet broadcasts which Channel 4 had no involvement in producing and which are available for public consumption."

"This was a thorough and detailed one-hour documentary, made over nine months, which allowed these comments to be seen in a fuller context. All the speakers featured in the film were offered a right to reply and none denied making these comments, nor have any of them complained to Ofcom to our knowledge."

"The film has been widely recognised as an important piece of investigative journalism on an issue of critical national importance. Channel 4 was fully aware of the sensitivities surrounding the subject matter, particularly its effect on community relations; however, we believe there was a greater public interest in exposing what was being preached in the name of Islam in some mainstream British mosques."

Sutcliffe added the broadcaster was "confident" of successfully defending the unfairness complaint against the programme if Ofcom chose to consider it.