The programme was an accurate reflection of the climate of neglect

Donal MacIntyre

Mr MacIntyre said the programme was "an accurate reflection of the climate of neglect in the home".

Kent Police said it wanted to recover from the BBC the �50,000 it cost to investigate alleged abuse highlighted by the MacIntyre Undercover programme about the Brompton Care Home in Gillingham, Kent.

Only two people were cautioned for minor assaults after a police investigation involving eight experienced detectives working full-time.

Mr MacIntyre went undercover to pose as a care worker for his report, and he used a hidden camera to film the way patients with learning difficulties were treated.

He worked with reporter Ben Anderson for 24 days at the home and 41 hours of footage from the nine-month investigation was condensed into a 45-minute documentary.

Donal MacIntyre: Specialised in undercover reports

Its screening prompted an immediate investigation by police and social services.

Within one day of the programme being aired, Medway Social Services moved to close Brompton Care Home.

Another four homes nearby, also owned by Mortimer Homes, were shut following the documentary, leaving 42 people with learning disabilities homeless and 84 workers redundant.

Mr MacIntyre, in a statement issued through the BBC, defended his programme.

'Fabrication' denied

He said of the claims by police and the newspaper: "The essence of their story is that I deliberately fabricated the level of abuse in the Brompton Care home, causing the home to close and thereby causing grave distress to the residents and their relatives."

"This is simply not true. The programme was an accurate reflection of the climate of neglect in the home. Furthermore Medway Social Services have confirmed that they made the right decision to issue a notice of closure."

He said that of all the TV programmes he had made, the care home documentary was the one of which he was proudest.

Police stance outlined

A Kent Police spokesman said: "We have never said or suggested, at any time, that he or indeed anyone else has deliberately fabricated anything. We have only ever been concerned with the programme as it was transmitted."

The spokesman added: "We stand by our assertions that the picture as presented by the programme was not an accurate reflection of the conditions in the care home and that many of the most sensational allegations were never substantiated".