TV comedian Frankie Boyle has hit back at claims he made a joke about the Cumbria shootings during a live show. The former Mock The Week star is alleged to have shocked audience members at London's Hammersmith Apollo with the routine, which came just one day after 12 people were murdered by cab driver Derrick Bird. According to one audience member Frankie made remarks about wanting to shoot taxi drivers who engaged him in conversation. However the funnyman says he was "misquoted" telling the Mirror, "The version that's given is a complete misquote. "It's a routine that starts with a true story about a remark someone gave me about the shootings, the thrust of which the guy making the joke was a complete insensitive idiot. Everyone laughed." Frankie's show is alleged to have included other controversial material, including references to the deaths of Gaza flotilla aid workers and 'Crossbow Cannibal' Stephen Griffiths. The incident comes just two months after Frankie came under fire for including material about people with Down's Syndrome in his act. Audience member Sharon Smith, whose five-year-old daughter is a Down's child, confronted Frankie after a gig in April. "He made fun of the way people with Down's syndrome speak. He made references to them dying early. I was very upset and wanted to cry," she said.
