Police may probe ITV phone-in scandals

ITV could face a police investigation over the latest series of phone in scandals, Scotland Yard has said.

The broadcaster faces paying back £7.8 million in refunds after a report revealed a total of ten million calls were affected.

Ant and Dec programmes Saturday Night Takeaway and Gameshow Marathon were among the shows named and shamed for rigging the results of competitions.

Scotland Yard said it would consider investigating ITV if it was asked to by Ofcom. A spokesman said: "If we receive a request from the regulatory authority then we will consider whether to investigate. We have not received a request at this time."

ITV chairman Michael Grade has been criticised for saying that no-one will lose their job after the scandal was revealed.

And politicians also attacked ITV for bringing out the report on the same day that BBC boss Mark Thompson announced job cuts.

The report by accountancy firm Deloitte identified "serious editorial issues" with the two Ant and Dec programmes and singing contest Soapstar Superstar, which all featured premium rate phone lines.

Viewers who called the phone lines to take part in the Ant and Dec shows were told that winners of contests such as Jiggy Bank and Grab The Ads would be chosen randomly.

But on numerous occasions the production team deliberately chose winners because they sounded "lively" or looked as if they would be entertaining on TV.

On other occasions they only shortlisted viewers who lived in a particular part of the country - meaning callers from other areas were wasting their money.

Shadow home secretary David Davis suggested that heads should roll, saying: "Someone made a dishonest decision. It must be possible for ITV to find this person and they should pay with their job."

And former Liberal Democrat leader Charles Kennedy said: "I'm not sure that the regulatory bodies have got enough teeth. They are too much the creatures of their industry.

"I am surprised that Michael Grade has not come in with a much harder line than he has. It seems incredible that nobody takes a walk. He must have very good reasons for coming to that judgment. He should share that with the public."

A spokesman for Ofcom said its investigation is ongoing. He said: "What ITV have said raises some concerns in relation to Ofcom's broadcasting code.

"We are investigating and we have asked ITV for further information."

The Deloitte report also highlighted serious technical issues with voting for the 2005 X Factor final, when 13.9 per cent of votes cast in this way arrived too late to be counted.

A total of 8.57 million callers are now eligible for refunds. Any money not claimed will be donated to charity.

© Independent Television News Limited 2007. All rights reserved.