News organisations have defended their decisions to broadcast controversial video footage shot in the immediate aftermath of the Woolwich terror attack.

The Sun and ITN both obtained videos from members of the public on Wednesday showing one of the attackers brandishing what appears to be a meat cleaver and delivering a politically-charged diatribe moments after he murdered a soldier.

Both videos were later shown on the BBC, with the vast majority of national papers carrying still images from the footage on Thursday’s front pages. ITV, Ofcom and the BBC are understood to have received hundreds of complaints about the decision to air the footage.