From a story by the Press Association:
ITV has apologised after Formula 1 commentator Martin Brundle used the word “pikey” during a broadcast.
Brundle was interviewing F1 head Bernie Ecclestone live before the start of the Canadian Grand Prix in Montreal.
The pair were talking over the weekend about Saturday afternoon’s qualifying round, in which pieces of tarmac from the Gilles Villeneuve track began crumbling.
Brundle joked: “There are some pikeys there at turn 10 putting tarmac down - what do you think of that?”
Asked about complaints, an ITV spokesman said that a “small number” of calls had been received about the incident.
He said: “We apologise for any offence.”
…
The BBC reports that Ofcom, the media regulator, is looking into the matter. And from the Daily Telegraph:
Last December, a Sussex gardener is believed to have made legal history when he was convicted of racially aggravated harassment for using the word.
Lee Coleman repeatedly used ‘pikey’ in a drunken outburst over a nightclub entrance fee. He was given a 12-month community order and told to do 200 hours of unpaid work.
