Jo Brand back on Radio 4 as she awaits Ofcom verdict on acid joke
JO BRAND will be back on Radio 4 next week, after police confirmed they will take no further action against the comedian.
The BBC has apologised for offence caused after she said: “Why bother with a milkshake when you could get some battery acid?” in reference to people throwing drinks over politicians.
In a statement issued last night, Scotland Yard said: “Police received an allegation of incitement to violence on 13 June, relating to comments made on a radio programme. The referral has been considered by the MPS and no further police action will be taken in relation to this allegation.”
The Daily Telegraph understands that internally the BBC is supporting the 61-year-old, with one insider saying: “Jo Brand is a much loved comedian and part of the Radio 4 family – she will continue to be so, and will continue to appear on our programmes.”
She is next due on air on Thursday evening at 11pm with V.I.P. R.I.P. –a show which looks back on the lives of celebrities who have died that week.
Yesterday, Ofcom said it had received 287 complaints about the comments, which the police are also investigating. The media regulator will only step in if complainants to the BBC are not satisfied with the organisation’s response.
So far, the BBC has taken the clip off its BBC Sounds website and issued a statement calling Heresy a long-running comedy programme where panellists “are deliberately provocative and go against societal norms but are not intended to be taken seriously”.
It added: “We carefully considered the programme before broadcast. It was never intended to encourage or condone violence, and it does not do so, but we have noted the strong reaction to it. Comedy will always push boundaries and will continue to do so, but on this occasion we have decided to edit the programme. We regret any offence we have caused.”
David Baddiel last night said the BBC appears “cowardly” for editing her joke out of the programme.
Speaking on Newsnight, the comedian and author said: “If it was up to me, I would have kept that line in for the repeat. Apart from anything, it’s a bit silly when it’s had massive coverage to cut it out – that looks a bit cowardly.”
At an event in Henley, Oxfordshire, on Thursday, Brand apologised for making a “crass and ill-judged” joke. But she reportedly told the audience she did not think that she had made a “mistake”, adding that she had not mentioned Nigel Farage, the Brexit Party leader who had a milkshake thrown over him during the EU elections campaign, by name.