MEDIA regulator Ofcom has warned broadcasters to be vigilant about briefing guests on live TV shows in the wake of a four-letter outburst from a Tory MP during a lunchtime political programme.
Former prisons minister Nick Herbert used the term "f***wit" while appearing as a guest on BBC2's Daily Politics programme in May this year, which led to an apology from the corporation.
Ofcom received five complaints and investigated the incident as a possible breach of standards, but is not taking any further action over the broadcast.
Mr Herbert defended his actions at the time, pointing out he used the term "disapprovingly" while quoting from a disparaging comment he claimed had been made by a fellow guest, former police officer Peter Kirkham, in reference to Home Secretary Theresa May.
Presenter Jo Coburn upbraided Mr Herbert and later offered an apology to viewers.
Ofcom said it concluded that the matter had been resolved because of the presenter's swift intervention and apology, together with the fact it was unlikely children would be watching.
However, in a report it said: "Ofcom reminds all broadcasters they should consider carefully their processes for briefing guests appearing on live programmes."
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article