Sir Trevor cleared of racism after calling Bernard Manning 'a fat white bastard'

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He made the comment on his satirical ITV1 show, News Knight, one week after the death of the stand-up comic at the age of 76.

A total of 112 viewers complained to media regulator Ofcom, citing the broadcaster's "inappropriate and/or racist" comments.

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Sir Trevor McDonald hosts a satirical game show called NewsKnight

Bernard Manning was known for his racist jokes

But following an investigation into whether the comment contravened broadcast codes based on the Human Rights Act, Ofcom claimed that Sir Trevor's comments were "justified" last night.

"The programme was broadcast a full hour after the 9pm watershed, when more challenging material can sometimes be expected," it said

and argued that the comments were "clearly intended" to parody Manning's own comic style.

Sir Trevor, 67, made the remark in June as he introduced an item titled Racist and Dead.

He said: "personally I never thought of Bernard Manning as a racist comic - just a fat, white bastard."

Last night a TV pressure group described Ofcom's ruling as extraordinary and said Sir Trevor's comment had been "glossed over".

John Beyer, of Mediawatch, said: "If the comment had been made in reverse (a white man calling someone a 'fat black bastard') there would have been utter outrage and rightly so."