The 'Ding Dong! The Witch is Dead' song has missed out on the top slot in the official UK charts despite a campaign to promote the song in the wake of Margaret Thatcher's death.
Instead of playing the 51-second song in full, BBC Radio 1's chart show played a Newsbeat report that included a five-second excerpt.
The Bishop of Grantham, the Right Reverend Dr Tim Ellis has questioned the cost of Margaret Thatcher's funeral, telling BBC Radio Lincolnshire the scale of the event was a mistake.
Here's something you won't often see me tweet: I WAS WRONG about when the charts close. Just bought this: https://t.co/UYges1I40y
From @LouiseMensch on Twitter:Guys we have a few more hours - the Lady IS for turntables - download more copies of #ImInLoveWithMargaretThatcher #GranthamStyle ! :)
From @LouiseMensch on Twitter:The BBC has defended its decision to play five seconds of the song Ding, Dong The Witch Is Dead on the Radio 1 chart show this Sunday.
The song has sped up the charts since the death of Baroness Thatcher, propelled by a campaign on Facebook.
The BBC's new Director General Lord Hall said banning the song risked giving what he called a "distasteful campaign behind the song" more publicity.
ITV News Correspondent Juliet Bremner reports:
BBC director general Tony Hall said an outright ban of the Ding Dong record on Radio 1's chart show would have given the track more publicity:
– Tony HallI understand the concerns about this campaign. I personally believe it is distasteful and inappropriate. However, I do believe it would be wrong to ban the song outright as free speech is an important principle and a ban would only give it more publicity.
I have spoken at some length with the Director of Radio Graham Ellis and Radio 1 Controller Ben Cooper.
We have agreed that we won't be playing the song in full, rather treating it as a news story and playing a short extract to put it in context.
UKIP leader Nigel Farage and Conservative MP Philip Davies, who are both supporters of Margaret Thatcher, told the Daily Telegraph that the BBC should broadcast the song 'Ding Dong The Witch Is Dead'.
– UKIP leader Nigel FarageIf you suppress things then you make them popular, so play the bloody thing. If you ban it it will be number one for weeks.
Personally I think that the behaviour of these yobs - most of whom weren’t even born when Lady Thatcher was in power - is horrible, offensive and disgusting.
– Conservative MP Philip DaviesI think that the campaign is pathetic, small minded and mean spirited...but to be perfectly frank the BBC have a chart show and as far as I am concerned they are obliged to play what is in the charts, it is not for the BBC to look at the basis on which something is in the charts, it is a programme of fact.
The Wizard Of Oz track 'Ding Dong The Witch Is Dead' which has had a surge of popularity in the wake of Baroness Thatcher's death is on course for a place in the top five.
An online campaign has driven sales of the track, and the latest placings released by the Official Charts Company show it had sold 20,000 copies by Wednesday night, when it was a number four.
It had been at number 10 in the Official Charts Update earlier on Wednesday.
The song is currently at number one on the iTunes and Amazon downloads charts but both physical and digital sales are combined to give the Official Chart rankings.
Michele Paduano, Union Representative, has told ITV News Central "there's absolutely no need" for staff to be made redundant.
Journalists working for the BBC in the Midlands have taken strike action in a dispute over compulsory redundancies.
Journalists working for the BBC in the Midlands have taken strike action in a dispute over compulsory redundancies.
Members of the National Union of Journalists walked out at midnight for 24 hours.
