The BBC has been criticised by the broadcasting watchdog over swearing on the televised Live 8 concerts.

Ofcom received complaints about the language used by Madonna, US rapper Snoop Dogg, Razorlight and Green Day during the concert.

The BBC did not use a time delay, and the language, which sparked more than 350 complaints, was heard by young viewers watching the show on TV before the watershed.

The BBC said it regretted the offence caused to viewers, but also blamed a "confrontation" with the organisers for the fact that its key staff missed the performance by Snoop Dogg, who used a "stream of expletives and racist terms".

Madonna broke the swearing ban when she yelled before the watershed "Are you f***ing ready, London?", while Johnny Borrell, lead singer of Razorlight, screamed "I say sign the f***ing petition".

Snoop Dogg chanted "motherf***er" repeatedly during one song.

The BBC said a "confrontation between the organisers and senior editorial figures from the BBC... meant that the two key BBC editorial personnel missed much of the performance by Snoop Dogg and were unable to set the apology procedure in motion".

By the time the extent of the problem became apparent to the senior BBC editorial team, "it was felt that the moment for a full apology had passed, and that to have returned to the issue would have merely drawn further attention to the original offence".

The BBC said that in future it would consider the possibility of using a time delay for bands performing before the watershed that might use offensive language.

It added that it would also take "further precautions to protect its production staff from unwarranted interference by third parties to ensure they were able at all times to monitor and react to events on air as they unfolded".

The BBC said it had approached some performers before the concert over the issue of language, but had not been given access to all the stars.

Snoop Dogg's record company had said he would be playing "TV versions" of his songs, excluding the swearing.
Following the performance, the record company apologised to the BBC, saying it was a case of the performer "going into gig mode and forgetting the time of the day".

The broadcaster said the question of whether to use a time delay had been rejected as impractical as the event was planned so that coverage would be shown live to audiences around the world.

The BBC was criticised by Ofcom for failing to use a typical short time delay of between seven seconds and five minutes, of not ensuring a senior editorial figure was given responsibility for monitoring output, and for giving no apology during the broadcast.

Ofcom said: "We consider the BBC should have anticipated an audience for this event, which would include a significant number of children, and we therefore consider that the broadcast of this material was inappropriate, compounded by the lack of any apology."