Prestwich_Blue said:
Here's what the BBC Editorial Code says;
5.4.32
BBC content must respect human dignity. Intimidation, humiliation, intrusion, aggression and derogatory remarks are all aspects of human behaviour that may be discussed or included in BBC output. Some content can be cruel but unduly intimidatory, humiliating, intrusive, aggressive or derogatory remarks aimed at real people (as opposed to fictional characters or historic figures) must not be celebrated for the purposes of entertainment.
Seems clear enough to me. Saying about someone that "if their brains were petrol they wouldn't have enough to get out of the garage" breaches that.
Let's disregard the fact that it's clearly a joke and make a series of grand assumptions. Let's assume that the half dozen emails sent by kids on here got past the £16K a year lacky who's job it is to knock-up stock responses to these kind of Disgusted of Tunbridge Wells emails. Let's assume that someone actually cared enough to look at this comment seriously and try to assess whether it was a breach of this clause.
Shall I show you the item which the solicitor reprenting Hansen or Lawrenson or whichever smug pundit came out with this comment would present as his only piece of evidence?
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mc_riLosaG4[/youtube]
Case closed, without even needing a diagram of a garage or an engine.
Let's be quite clear here. If brains were petrol he'd stick a match inside his own head to have a look how much was in the tank.