A Radio Four sketch show has sparked outrage by intercutting an obscene clip from The Exorcist with audio of Prime Minister Keir Starmer talking about his late mother.
An episode of satirical comedy program The Skewer released on Wednesday includes a section lampooning the Labor leader's repetitive messaging on the campaign trail, including his frequent reference to his father having been a toolmaker.
But in one inexplicable moment unearthed by Talk TV presenter Peter Cardwell, audio of Starmer talking about his mother – who died in 2015 after a long battle with Still's disease – is followed by a line from the iconic horror film where a possessed child grunts “your mother sucks cocks in hell”, to priests at her bedside.
During his ITV interview on The Leaders program with Paul Brand in the lead up to the election, Starmer opened up about his childhood and became emotional while talking about his mother Josephine Baker's debilitating battle with Still's, a rare type of arthritis thought to be autoimmune or autoinflammatory.
“When I was about 13, and mum was up at the hospital very, very ill and my dad was up there with her, as he always was,” he said.
“Us kids were at home and he phoned through I picked up the phone … And he just said 'I don't think you're mum's going to make it.'”
The 61 year old fought back tears, as he continued: “I remember those words, I remember what that felt like.
“It was the first time it had directly impacted me in the sense that I thought mums were not going to be here. She did pull through but that went through me.”
Starmer admitted to Brand that it, “Still goes through me, telling you today really impacted me.”
The newly-elected PM's mum was diagnosed with the condition as a child, and worked as a nurse despite her own considerable health struggles.
She tragically died just two weeks before her son was elected a Member of Parliament.
Number 10 declined to comment when approached by Talk TV.
A spokesperson for the BBC said: “The Skewer is well-known for its surreal and acerbic approach to comedy, weaving together audio clips from across popular culture and the media.
“When heard in context, the clip in question is clearly part of a satire on the repeated reference to family members and background during election debates, rather than a direct comment on Sir Keir Starmer's mother.
“Comedy is subjective and while we understand that not everything will be to everyone's taste, the content and language is within audience expectations for this multi-award winning satirical program.”
“Comedy is subjective, and while we understand that not everything will be to everyone's taste, the content and language is within audience expectations for this multi-award-winning satirical program.”
Barnie Choudhury, Lecturer in Broadcast and Multimedia Journalism at the University of East Anglia said he was “appalled” that the BBC would defend the clip.
“It's not funny, it's not satire, it's offensive, pure and simple,” he added.
The former BBC correspondent said “There is no way on earth that you can defend this, and this is the problem with the BBC, that it tries to defend the indefensible.”
He acknowledged that politicians are “fair game” for satirical attacks, but asked “why would you go after somebody who can't defend themselves, who's passed away, and actually helped the NHS and brought up our future Prime Minister?”
Express.co.uk has approached the BBC for comment.