Mary Portas blasted for ‘child labour’ sketch on Channel 4′s Mash Up
By Gavin Allen
Last updated at 10:33 AM on 4th January 2012
Retail guru Mary Portas has provoked outrage after appearing in a comedy sketch in which she was seen running a sweat shop of sobbing Asian children
The sketch, screened on Channel 4, showed a film crew apparently stumbling across the room while filming in Portas’ home.
In the room young Asian actors were shown tearfully working at sewing machines, purportedly grafting on her ‘Queen of Shops’ clothing collection.
Sweat shop: Mary Portas has been slammed for taking part in a comedy sketch depicting a child labour camp at her house
In the sketch, cameras accidentally stumble across the sweat shop, with Portas claiming the children are her family, while her servant attempts to hide them
Portas, a government adviser on the British high street, then attempted to jokingly cover up the ‘discovery’ claiming the children were members of her family.
She was seen berating her assistant for letting cameras in and said: ‘You know my, err, my family don’t like to feature on camera.’
The satirical sketch came as part of Channel 4’s ‘Mash Up’ night, where Portas took a turn presenting links between shows on Monday night.
Channel 4 has since received numerous complaints about the sketch.
And viewers have taken to Twitter to express their outrage, branding it in ‘shockingly bad taste.’ Louise Fernley wrote: ‘Shocked that Mary Portas agreed to that child labour “joke” and producers let it go out.’
Matt Horwood said: ‘That Mary Portas scene in between the #C4mashup wasn’t funny, and was kind of extremely inappropriate. Eeek.’
Twitter outrage: People took to the social networking site during the show to criticise the sketch, with comments including that it was in ‘shockingly bad taste’
Watch me: How Portas used Twitter plugged her appearance on the programme
Another, known as Pablo K, said: ‘Channel 4 Mash Up making HILARIOUS jokes about child labour with over-exposed fashionista Mary Stinking Portas. #hahaFAIL.’
One user, named dorotheainrome, said: ‘WHAT THE ACTUAL *** MARY PORTAS AND CHANNEL 4? Child slavery really not funny at all. At all!’
Another, Isobel Jokl, said: ‘Really tasteful child labour joke there Mary Portas. Nice.’
One user, calling himself toyboxstudio, said: ‘Is that Mary Portas segue with the kids sewing a bit, well, shockingly bad taste?’
Charlotte Long said: ‘What are those little children doing for Mary portas?!Not really funny…. #racist #childlabour … #C4MashUp’
Rachael Swanson said: ‘#C4 are gonna get in so much trouble for that clip with Mary Portas. Always one to push the boundaries!’
In fashion: Portas was appointed as a special adviser on retail by David Cameron
A spokesman for Channel 4 confirmed they had received 11 complaints about the sketch so far.
He said: ‘This was a tongue in cheek sketch as part of a comedy evening.’
Portas, who throughout the sketches was accompanied by a manservant named Marcello, was one of two celebrity hosts for the night with illusionist Derren brown also taking part in several sketches.
In other sketches Portas was seen giving clothes advice to David Cameron on a ‘Downing Street Hotline’ in a room furnished with a multi-coloured Andy Warhol-style portait of herself, She was also depicted drinking cocktails surrounded by manequins and holding a lapdog, all of which were wearing wigs matching her distinctive red haircut.
The controversial clip comes after Channel 4 announced plans for Portas to front a new show aimed at convincing shoppers to buy British-made clothes, to boost the economy and avoid unethical exploitation of foreign workers.
The show, called ‘Mary’s Bottom Line’ is due to be screened later this year.
Portas was recently commissioned by the government to conduct an independent review into the ‘Future of the High Street’.
As part of this, she came up with recommendations aimed at saving UK town centres by rejuvenating shops and markets.
Miss Portas called for a change in planning rules to support town-centre development ahead of new malls.
She said planning permission for all large out-of-town shopping developments should be referred to ministers for scrutiny and approval.
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English Channel plane crash: Hunt for pilot underway near Guernsey
By Colin Fernandez
Last updated at 4:28 AM on 14th November 2011
A millionaire businessman was feared dead last night after the light plane he was piloting crashed in the English Channel.
Ian Dickinson, 79, sank beneath the waves despite his wife Ann-Marie’s efforts to pull him from the wreckage.
Mrs Dickinson, also 79, survived after being plucked from the sea by a passing ship. Last night she was released from hospital after being treated for hypothermia.
Mystery: A millionaire businessman was feared dead last night after the light plane he was piloting crashed in the English Channel. The aircraft was believed to be a Piper Archer from Alderney Flying Club (file picture)
In a separate tragedy, a businessman and his friend died when their helicopter plummeted to the ground in a ball of flames on Majorca.
Mark Blaver-Mann and Alistair Evans, both 53, had been flying in what were described as ‘perfect’ conditions.
Mr and Mrs Dickinson were travelling home to Alderney in the Channel Islands from an airfield in Lee-on-Solent, Hampshire, when their hired single-engined Piper Archer plane crashed at 3.50pm on Saturday.
The two-seater plane capsized after ditching in water 25 miles off the coast of Guernsey.
Separate tragedy: Mark Blaver-Mann, pictured with his wife Lindsey, died in a helicopter crash in Majorca on Saturday
Christelle Haar, from the Maritime Prefecture in Cherbourg, France, which helped with the rescue operation, said Mrs Dickinson tried to get her husband out of the cockpit.
But she added: ‘She had to leave her husband and get out of the plane and save herself. She was very lucky. She was only a few minutes in the water before she was picked up by a passing Russian cargo ship.
‘There was no sign of her husband or the plane which had sunk.
‘She did not suffer any injuries but was suffering from shock. She was airlifted to Cherbourg and treated in hospital for hypothermia.’
Miss Haar said that the cause of the crash was being investigated by French police. The French authorities called off the search yesterday.
Crash: The Ministry of Defence confirmed the private plane ditched into the English Channel 25 miles north-west off the coast of Guernsey
The couple, who have three grown-up children, are originally from Winsford, Cheshire, where Mr Dickinson was the director of several property companies which built family homes.
Norman Howson, 64, of Bolton, a former director of one of Mr Dickinson’s companies, described him as ‘a charming gentleman’. ‘He was a lovely chap to work for,’ he said. ‘He used to commute to Cheshire from Alderney two or three times a week.
‘He was very active, always going to the gym, and did not look his age.’
The Ministry of Defence said the French authorities took the lead in the rescue mission as the incident occurred in their territorial waters.
Mr Blaver-Mann’s helicopter had been in a hangar at Bournemouth International Airport for most of the summer before being flown to Majorca in the last month.
Sebastian Xamena, who witnessed the accident on Saturday, said: ‘He was flying back and forth in the area as if he wanted to land.
Search: HMS Tyne (pictured) has been drafted in to search for the aircraft
‘He was flying very low, very close to the pine trees, and suddenly it started to spin round, then it fell. There was a huge explosion and we saw a massive plume of smoke.’
Mr Blaver-Mann, a father of two from Poole, Dorset, used to run the company Powermann, which specialises in high voltage projects and maintenance.
He sold it several years ago and had since devoted more time to his hobbies, which included yachting, flying and touring in a large, U.S.-style camper van.
Mr Evans ran two upmarket restaurants in Dorset.
Glamour model benefit cheat fiddled £7,000 benefits while working for a raunchy television channel
By Chris Slack
Last updated at 6:49 AM on 13th September 2011
A glamour model who illegally claimed more than £7,000 in benefits while presenting raunchy television channels has been fined.
Dionne Stenner, 29, from Hove, East Sussex, raked in thousands of pounds working under the stage name Morgan James while fronting X-rated programmes on the Playboy and TVX channels.
But at the same time she was claiming housing benefit, council tax benefit and income support.
Fraud: Dionne Stenner was fined £1,315 after she falsely claimed £7,000 in benefits while working as a presenter and model for adult television channels
Today she admitted failing to notify the Department for Work and Pensions and Brighton and Hove City Council about the change in her financial circumstances.
She was fined £1,315 and ordered to pay costs.
Brighton and Hove Magistrates’ Court heard Stenner received up to £350 for each night she presented, and had earned £18,000 between March and October last year.
Prosecutor Jessica Clarke said she illegally claimed a total of £7,782 in housing benefit, council tax benefit and income support during this time.
The court heard that her crimes only came to light after she was shopped by her former boyfriend.
Wearing a patterned jumper and black leggings, Stenner sat in the dock as the evidence was read out.
Miss Clarke said: ‘Miss Stenner was interviewed and she fully accepted that she hadn’t declared while she was working.
‘She said she knew it was wrong but needed every penny to pay off debts.’
Wrongful claims: Stenner illegally obtained a total of £7,782 in housing benefit, council tax benefit
Ed Fish, defending, said Stenner’s work had been occasional but she made a full admission to investigators when it came to light.
He added that she has no previous convictions.
Outside court, the model said she had not tried to hide her crimes and intended to pay back what was owed.
She said: ‘I’m mortified by it all.
‘I come from a nice family and this is something that I regret. I have not tried to hide anything.’
Model: Stenner, who used the stage name Morgan James, received up to £350 for each night she presented, and had earned £18,000 between March and October last year
She said her glamour work included posing topless in front of the camera ‘while talking on the phone to men’. She added she worked for channels including Television X and Playboy.
According to an online profile, Stenner describes herself as an ‘experienced model and TV presenter’ who is happy to work in all locations.
She writes: ‘Although most of my experience has been in glamour, which I love, I would also like to try the more commercial side and fashion and fitness modelling.’
On her Facebook profile, Stenner says she is a TV presenter and model at Playboy TV and says she also worked at Bluebird TV, another adult channel.
