Supermarket Waitrose has pulled its advertising from Fox News after customers complained about presenter Glenn Beck's remarks about US president Barack Obama.

Beck caused controversy when he said in July that he thought Mr Obama was "a racist" and a number of companies withdrew their advertising with the news channel.

He said the president's reaction to the arrest of a black academic Henry Louis Gates in Cambridge, Massachusetts proved him to be "a guy who has a deep-seated hatred for white people or the white culture. I don't know what it is...".

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A spokesman for Waitrose said that the company had withdrawn its advertising from the Fox News slot shown on Sky in Britain in response to customer concerns.

He said: "We have pulled it because we believe it's the right thing to do. Our customers' views are important to us."