CHANNEL 4 - CPS AND POLICE TO APOLOGISE FOR DOCUMENTARY SMEAR

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) and West Midlands Police are to publicly apologise for accusing the makers of a Channel 4 documentary of distorting scenes of alleged extremism.

A joint press release issued by the force and the CPS in August 2007 claimed a Dispatches programme broadcast in January of that year had misleadingly edited footage of Muslim preachers and clerics to create an impression of extremist views.

But after communications watchdog Ofcom rejected the claims of distortion in November and Channel 4 threatened to launch a libel action over the allegations, the police have confirmed they are to apologise at the high court this Thursday.

A donation from the force and the CPS of £50,000 will be given to the Rory Peck Trust - which protects freelance journalists - while a further £50,000 will go to Channel 4 to cover legal costs incurred during the dispute.

The documentary, entitled Undercover Mosque, had featured a preacher claiming that women were born deficient, with another shown celebrating the Taliban's killing of a British Muslim soldier in Afghanistan.

The police had accused the Dispatches programme makers of "heavily editing" the footage and said the documentary could undermine "community cohesion" and "feelings of public reassurance".

Kevin Sutcliffe, deputy head of current affairs at Channel 4, said the apology was "a total vindication of the programme team in exposing extreme views being preached in mainstream British mosques".

"Channel 4 was fully aware of the sensitivities surrounding the subject matter but recognised the programme's findings were clearly a matter of important public interest," he added.

"The authorities should be doing all they can to encourage investigations like this, not attempting to publicly rubbish them for reasons they have never properly explained."