IT’S BEYOND shameful that the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is so out of touch that it has used the Great British Menu to promote French foie gras – a disgusting, cruelly-produced blob of fatty liver that it is illegal to produce in Great Britain.

To make this Continental “torture in a tin”, ducks and geese are confined to wire boxes barely larger than their bodies and force-fed a fatty gruel through pipes that are rammed down their throats several times a day until their livers swell up to 10 times their normal size.

Many birds, who lose all will to live and become dishevelled and filthy, suffer severe bruising to the oesophagus and the pipes often tear holes in the birds’ sensitive necks. Sometimes, birds’ internal organs rupture, causing fatal bleeding.

British institutions, including the House of Lords, BAFTA, Wimbledon, Virgin Airlines, and The Royal Shakespeare Company, have banned foie gras from their events and menus.

The Prince of Wales refuses to let it be served in royal residences and Pope Benedict decried it as an abomination.

The BBC needs to ban this vile dish from its premises and menus.

Ben Williamson, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), All Saints Street, London.