Emily Parr and Charley Uchea: Parr was told to leave Big Brother immediately after using racially offensive language. Photograph: Channel 4
Racial equality campaigners and politicians today welcomed Channel 4's swift action in evicting Big Brother contestant Emily Parr after she made a racist remark.
The media regulator, Ofcom, said it would look into the incident after it is broadcast tonight on Channel 4, if there are any complaints by viewers. A Commission for Racial Equality spokesperson said the racist word Parr used, "nigger", is "clearly offensive". He added: "We're relieved that Channel 4 has acted quickly. Whichever way you look at it, the 'N' word is clearly offensive. This will show everyone that racism must never be tolerated in any way, shape or form. "We can see from this incident that there is no stereotype of a racist, they come from all walks of life, education and social background. Two series of Big Brother, two racist incidents - this just shows how prevalent racism really is in Britain today."
The Conservative shadow secretary of state for culture, media and sport, Hugo Swire, also applauded Channel 4 for its action. "Racism has no place in modern Britain," he said.
"Ofcom's adjudication on Celebrity Big Brother made very clear how broadcasters must handle difficult or challenging material to ensure they adhere to Ofcom's broadcasting code," an Ofcom spokeswoman said.
"Where necessary, broadcasters should implement new procedures to prevent failures of compliance. Once the material in question has been broadcast, Ofcom will look into any complaints carefully and assess whether any issues are raised in relation to the broadcasting code."
Channel 4's Big Brother commissioning editor, Angela Jain, speaking on Sky News, defended the broadcaster's decision to remove Parr. "That word that Emily used was clearly a racially offensive word. We felt we had to take the appropriate course of action," Ms Jain said.
"I think it's very important that viewers have the opportunity to see the conversation in context and see how we made a proportionate response."
When asked why Channel 4 is showing the incident tonight and not censoring it, Ms Jain said: "We don't want to hang Emily out to dry so it's important for us to not censor and allow viewers to see we acted proportionately. "I believe we've absolutely acted appropriately. All of the housemates before entering the house were specifically warned we wouldn't tolerate racist behaviour and that we would act appropriately, and that's what we've done." She also pointed out: "It's very, very clear to us that offence can be caused to viewers. What we've done is act appropriately and swiftly I hope."
The Channel 4 chief executive, Andy Duncan, is not expected to make any comment today about the incident.
