Dispatches: a Channel 4 statement
Updated on 09 August 2007
Full statement issued by the broadcaster on Dispatches: Undercover Mosque.
Kevin Sutcliffe, Commissioning Editor for Dispatches at Channel 4, said: "We are very confident of successfully defending this unfairness complaint against the programme if Ofcom chooses to consider it.
"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."
