Published in The Sunday Telegraph on 01 March 2009.
Channel Five drops Crimestoppers Live project after Ofcom warns peer’s £700,000 is ‘self promotion’.
Britain’s largest crimefighting charity has been forced to abandon a new television series which could have solved dozens of major cases because of a row over programme sponsorship.
Filming for Crimestoppers Live which was due to start this week with Fiona Philips as the lead presenter, as been halted after Ofcom, the broadcast regulator, said it was unhappy that Lord Ashcroft, the Conservative peer, was providing £700,000 to help fund the show.
