During the riots that took place in August this year, BBC2's Newsnight filmed a panel of guests discussing the nature of the civil disorder, including historian David Starkey.
Dr Starkey angered many viewers with his comment: "What has happened is that the substantial section of the 'chavs' ... have become black. The whites have become black."
Hundreds of complaints from the public were received by the media regulating body Ofcom. Ed Miliband, the Labour leader, described the comment as "racist" and "outrageous".
However, Ofcom ruled that Dr Starkey's comments were sufficiently dealt with by Newsnight's presenter Emily Maitlis and by the response of other commenters on the programme.
An Ofcom spokesperson said: "This was a serious and measured discussion within a programme with a well-established nature and format and with reputation for dealing with challenging subjects. The effect of his comments was limited by the presenter's moderation of the item and his comments were countered by the views of other contributors."
Another panellist on the show, Owen Jones, a journalist and author of 'Chavs: The Demonisation of the Working Class', believed Dr Starkey's comments to be racist.
He said: "David Starkey attempted to scapegoat black people for the August riots by claiming so-called 'black culture' had effectively colonised white people and turned them into thugs."
He criticised Ofcom, saying: "Once again, Ofcom has proved itself to be a toothless body by failing to tackle the out-and-out racism of a discredited historian."
But Ofcom ruled that David Starkey "was robustly challenged by presenter Emily Maitlis and the other contributors who took issue with his comments".
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