[Red Moon]

Ofcom's CBB probe continues

Ofcom said today its investigation into alleged racism on Celebrity Big Brother would continue despite prosecutors deciding not to bring charges against any of the housemates involved.

The regulator said it was waiting for Channel 4 to file its submission about the programme before ruling whether it had broken the broadcasting standards code.

A police investigation last week concluded that scenes from the show were "offensive but not criminal".

"It could go backwards and forwards for a while until we get the information we need," a spokeswoman for Ofcom said.

Ofcom took more than 45,000 complaints about Celebrity Big Brother during its run in January, easily the largest such protest on record, while Channel 4 is believed to have fielded more than 10,000.

Viewers objected to the allegedly racist bullying of Indian star Shilpa Shetty by some of her white housemates.

Housemates refused to learn Shetty's name, referred to her as "the Indian" and "Shilpa Poppadom", and one said she should "**** off home".

Last week it emerged that the police had interviewed four former housemates in the course of an inquiry into possible racial abuse and tried to speak to another two, who declined to help, understood to be Jade Goody and her mother Jackiey Budden.

The police said Channel 4 and the show's producer, Endemol, would not hand over unedited footage.

"They declined to co-operate and stated they would contest any application to court," Hertfordshire police said last week.

"Following consultation with the Crown Prosecution Service, it was felt that it would not be in the public interest to effect arrests or to pursue footage through the courts.

"The CPS has concluded that whilst what occurred was clearly offensive, it was not criminal."

Source: The Guardian