Ofcom has ruled the controversial use of the N-word in a BBC news report last summer was “unjustified”.

But the regulator decided not to take any action over the incident, saying that even though the BBC initially defended the decision it was satisfied by the subsequent apology from then director-general Tony Hall.

Ofcom said the inclusion of the highly racially offensive language “had the potential to cause very high levels of offence which was not justified by the context”.