More than 100 complaints flood in following BBC's Have I Got News For You
The BBC has received more than a hundred complaints after satirical quiz show Have I Got News For You joked about the death of Baroness Thatcher.
The show - broadcast on Friday - included a number of remarks and quips about the former prime minister with a lengthy section discussing her death.
Yesterday the BBC, through its complaints website, defended the programme saying it would have been impossible to ignore the story and claimed the panellists did not directly make fun of Baroness Thatcher.
In a posting on the BBC’s complaints website, the corporation said it had heard from viewers who were ‘disappointed’ by the comments made about her.
The BBC1 show has drawn 107 complaints so far.
During the show guest Ken Livingstone joked about how during her time in office she had axed the Greater London Council, of which he had been the leader.
He said: ‘I haven’t had my invite to the funeral yet so I haven’t been able to decline it.
‘It would be a tad hypocritical given she abolished me, to turn up to her funeral.’
A number of other gags were aimed at her cabinet and her son Mark.
Responding to the complaints, the BBC said: ‘Given the enormous amount of TV and newspaper comment on the life and achievements of Lady Thatcher, it was impossible to ignore the story.
Smirking: Ken Livingstone and host Ian Hislop took part in Friday's controversial episode of Have I got News for You
Sick joke: The show was peppered with references to Baroness Thatcher's family and former cabinet
Part of the pack: Bridget Christie and Paul Merton also took part in the show which provoked anger among viewers
‘The very fact that the programme covered the death of Lady Thatcher was always going to infuriate some viewers, however they should know what to expect from the show after 23 years.
‘If you look closely at the content of the show you will see that at no point did we make fun of Lady Thatcher herself or put forward a critique of her record - everything was based around the reaction to her death by other politicians and public figures, and the row over the cost of the funeral.'
However this is not the first time the BBC satirical show has landed in hot water.
The show - broadcast on Friday - included a number of remarks and quips about the former prime minister with a lengthy section discussing her death.
Yesterday the BBC, through its complaints website, defended the programme saying it would have been impossible to ignore the story and claimed the panellists did not directly make fun of Baroness Thatcher.
In a posting on the BBC’s complaints website, the corporation said it had heard from viewers who were ‘disappointed’ by the comments made about her.
The BBC1 show has drawn 107 complaints so far.
During the show guest Ken Livingstone joked about how during her time in office she had axed the Greater London Council, of which he had been the leader.
He said: ‘I haven’t had my invite to the funeral yet so I haven’t been able to decline it.
‘It would be a tad hypocritical given she abolished me, to turn up to her funeral.’
A number of other gags were aimed at her cabinet and her son Mark.
Responding to the complaints, the BBC said: ‘Given the enormous amount of TV and newspaper comment on the life and achievements of Lady Thatcher, it was impossible to ignore the story.
Smirking: Ken Livingstone and host Ian Hislop took part in Friday's controversial episode of Have I got News for You
Sick joke: The show was peppered with references to Baroness Thatcher's family and former cabinet
Part of the pack: Bridget Christie and Paul Merton also took part in the show which provoked anger among viewers
‘The very fact that the programme covered the death of Lady Thatcher was always going to infuriate some viewers, however they should know what to expect from the show after 23 years.
‘If you look closely at the content of the show you will see that at no point did we make fun of Lady Thatcher herself or put forward a critique of her record - everything was based around the reaction to her death by other politicians and public figures, and the row over the cost of the funeral.'
However this is not the first time the BBC satirical show has landed in hot water.
