A TELEVISION advertisement in which the comedian Harry Enfield ridicules Winston Churchill, calling him a “porky prime minister”, has been banned by the advertising standards watchdog.

The 30-second film accusing Churchill of downloading “saucy pics” of General Montgomery, the second world war commander, from the internet has been deemed extremely offensive to the public and the surviving family of the wartime leader.

In the advert Enfield reprises his role as loud-mouthed Frank Doberman, made famous in his series Harry Enfield and Friends, and reproaches Churchill for using an old internet dial-up service.

Approaching Churchill, played by a lookalike, he yells: “Oi, Churchill. Well done for winning world war two. Nice one. But if you was downloading saucy pics of Monty up at El Alamein using a dial-up connection, I should say, ‘Oi, Churchill, no!’ You should be Madasafish, you porky prime minister!” But the Broadcasting Advertising Clearance Centre (BACC) has banned the advert, which is one of a series of three in which Doberman gives his pearls of wisdom to leading historical figures.

The other adverts featuring the explorer Captain Cook and the scientist Albert Einstein have been allowed.

David Laurie, chief executive of Madasafish, defended the advert, saying he was astounded it was not suitable for transmission.

Enfield said the ban was “nanny-state rubbish”. “The premise of the advert is so ridiculous I really do not see how it can be offensive.”

A second advert, informing people of the ban and directing them to see the original on the company’s website, has also been outlawed.

A release on the site says: “Frank quietly explains to Winston that he ought to consider switching from his dial-up connection to Madasafish broadband. How can that cause offence?”

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