Ofcom to investigate Home Office-funded police documentary

The broadcasting watchdog Ofcom said today it will examine a government-funded fly-on-the-wall documentary to see if it broke rules on programme sponsorship.

The Home Office provided £800,000 towards the making of two series of Beat: Life on the Street, which showed police community support officers (PCSOs) at work in Oxford and Lancashire.

Ofcom rules say that programmes must clearly identify their sponsors, and sponsors must not influence the content of the programme in such a way as to impair the broadcaster's editorial independence.

The first series series of Beat, broadcast on ITV1 last year, was deemed a success and the show returned to the screens on Sunday evenings earlier this year.

Border Force, another documentary funded to the tune of £400,000 by the Home Office, shows the work of the UK Border Agency and will be broadcast on Sky One later his month.

A spokesman for the Home Office said he was confident Ofcom rules on editorial independence and sponsorship transparency had been followed.

"Documentaries of this nature play an important role in informing the public, openly and transparently, about the work of the police and UK Border Agency," he said.

"The Home Office do not influence the content of these programmes after they are commissioned and they adhere to Ofcom's strict guidelines on this kind of programme."

The Sunday Telegraph reported that the Government had spent a total of £1,910,000 across a range of departments sponsoring TV shows.

They included programmes encouraging people to donate blood, raising awareness of the dangers of importing food and animal products and showcasing successful small businesses.