'Jeremy Vine On 5' reported to Ofcom over Mike Parry 'minorities' remark

Jeremy Vine's Channel 5 show has been reported to broadcasting regulator Ofcom over journalist Mike Parry comment that “minorities have to be squashed".

The talkRADIO presenter made the remarks during an appearance on Jeremy Vine On 5 on Friday, 1 October, to discuss the Insulate Britain protesters who have caused chaos on motorways in recent weeks.

Ofcom has confirmed it has received 383 complaints from viewers directly relating to Parry's remarks.

Vine had been questioning whether the protesters should be removed from the roads if they had superglued their hands to the Tarmac, and guest Yasmin Alibhai-Brown said she didn’t agree, saying some of these types of things had to be put up with in a free society.

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But Parry replied: “Not to the detriment of millions of other people. The problem in this country in all areas is that minorities always get the upper hand because we're so tolerant."

Watch: Mike Parry's comments about minorities on the Jeremy Vine show which sparked complaints

Slapping his hand down on the table, he added: "And minorities have to be squashed like that!"

“So the rest of society can operate normally,” he added.

Parry later attempted to set the record straight, saying his words were aimed at the motorway protesters and “other minority groups who've had a disproportionate effect on life".

He tweeted: “1. Can I explain please the context of my comment on the @JeremyVineOn5 show this morning: 'Minorities have to be squashed' It sounds brutal in isolation but it was directly aimed at the M25 protesters and OTHER minority groups who've had a disproportionate effect on life."

He continued: "2. Before today's show we were discussing wind power/energy sources .. a story we covered .. and I expressed the view: 'Fracking could have saved this country from relying on overseas energy .. but once again a tiny minority of protesters stopped it happening. Why? It's mad'."

He added: "3. I do not regard anybody who is not my religion, creed or colour as a person in a minority group. I'm not even aware that I live in a mixed race society. I just live in our society. To link my 'minorities' comment to ethnicity is just silly .. I don't think like that."

Vine also defended Parry on Twitter, in a post that has since been deleted.

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He tweeted: "This would have been totally unacceptable had Mike been referring to members of ethnic minorities. In fact this snippet does not make clear @mikeparry8 was actually talking about the eco-protesters who brought the M25 to a halt. He said they represented very few people in the UK."