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The Police has begun investigations into two Channel 4 documentaries over claims the broadcaster distorted the truth. Police revealed they have received a formal complaint about the Dispatches show Undercover Mosque, which allegedly featured Islamic sermons deriding homosexuals and non-believers. And they are now looking into the recent Dispatches: Britain Under Attack documentary about the roots of Islamic extremism in the UK.
This came after the Crown Prosecution Service advised that there was insufficient evidence to prosecute the broadcaster for stirring up racial hatred in the earlier edition of Dispatches.
Broadcast in January, the programme in question featured footage shot at a number of mosques, including one at which a preacher praised the Taliban for killing British soldiers.
But a police inquiry did not find enough evidence to charge anyone featured in the programme.
The investigation was then extended to analyse the editing of the programme.
Assistant Chief Constable Anil Patani said: "The priority for West Midlands Police has been to investigate the documentary and its making with as much rigour as the extremism the programme sought to portray."
Lawyer Bethan David considered 56 hours of footage for the inquiry.
She claimed the splicing together of extracts from longer speeches appeared to have "completely distorted" what the speakers were saying.
But a Channel 4 spokesman said: "We believe the offensive views expressed by the people revealed in the programme speak for themselves.
"We didn't put these words into people's mouths and all extracts were carefully contextualised.
The Muslim Council of Britain welcomes today’s joint statement from the Crown Prosecution Service and the West Midlands Police and Dr Muhammad Abdul Bari, Secretary-General of the Muslim Council of Britain said;
“Today’s joint statement from the CPS and West Midlands Police will justifiably reinforce the distrust with which many Muslims regard sections of our media. It is of course right that hate speech must be vigorously combated. Documentary makers have an important responsibility, however, to do their research properly and carefully identify those who are actually inciting hatred. They must take great care to avoid unfairly stigmatising entire institutions and groups of people. It is deeply regrettable that Hardcash Productions, who were the producers of the Undercover Mosque documentary, appear to have resorted to some underhand methods in order to engage in hatemongering against some mainstream UK Muslim institutions, including the London Islamic Cultural Centre, the UK Islamic Mission and the Markazi Jamiat Ahl-e-Hadith,”
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