Sham marriage fixers have been caught on camera saying they get away with it because authorities are too scared of being labelled racist to intervene.

Hidden cameras captured a 'fixer' arranging a ceremony between a man from Pakistan seeking a passport and a would-be British bride.

The man, who was actually an undercover reporter, asked the fixer if the relationship will 'stand out' because they are from different cultures - making the Home Office more likely to investigate.

But the alleged fixer replies: 'As far as ethnicity, religion, that is very, so touchy they are scared to bring it up. It's not PC. It's not something they'll bring up, for fear of being called racist.'

ITV's Exposure documentary filmed two alleged sham marriage fixers as an undercover reporter asks them to arrange a fake ceremony for him

The investigation, screened on Thursday, includes two cases of undercover filming of sham marriage 'fixers', with one couple offering to provide a girl or 'puppet' to take part in a ceremony for £10,000.

It shows one fixer, called Chris, revealing tips on the best cover story to provide to the Home Office.

He was filmed reassuring a woman called Sarah, saying she would not get in trouble because she is British.

'If she was Polish that would be a lot more suspicious and dodgy. Look she's British you will not get in trouble,' he was filmed saying.

Chris also encouraged the fake couple to pretend they met on a dating website.

He said: 'The simplest story is dating site. Dating site, dating site. That's a simple story 'cause that's what everyone's doing these days. Young people, I dunno. Find someone, meet someone and get married.'

One pair of fixers admitted 'sham marriage is a big crime' but went on to discuss arrangements for the undercover reporter to marry a British woman.

They were also filmed criticising the British system, saying it was 'unbelievably soft'.

Filmed by a hidden camera, one of the 'fixers' is heard to compare the girls used in the sham marriages as puppets

One of the pair admits 'sham marriage is a big crime' but goes on to discuss arrangements for the undercover reporter to marry a British woman

Investigators for ITV's Exposure found that – despite repeated Government crackdowns on sham marriage – it remains a multi-million pound industry.

Former Crown Prosecution chief Nazir Afzal said officials were worried about being accused of 'racism 'or 'religious discrimination' so might not challenge fake couples.

He said: 'People these days are less likely to ask those kinds of questions because they don't want to be accused of being racist or religiously discriminatory.

'The saddest thing is that we the British taxpayer the public lose out, and that can't be right.'

The undercover team also found that criminal gangs are increasingly fixing same-sex marriages, as they think they will arouse less suspicions.

Government figures suggest 10,000 sham marriages take place each year but there are no figures for those involving same sex couples.

In March, the Home Office tightened the rules. Everybody getting wed now has to wait for a month between giving notice and getting married.

Anyone without a European passport or permanent residency in the UK will also be referred automatically to the Home Office, and could face an investigation of up to 70 days.

Officials had expected the number of applications to fall in the wake of the crackdown – which has been declared a priority by Prime Minister David Cameron.

But there has been no reduction in the number of requests flooding in, according to Brent Register Office in north London – which has been repeatedly targeted for sham weddings over the past decade.

The alleged fixers assure the man posing as an immigrant looking to arrange a sham marriage that it will work '1 million per cent'

Head of registration services Mark Rimmer said: 'People aren't being put off. That's a slight concern if I was in the Home Office.'

A Home Office spokesman said: The criminal gangs who try to cheat their way around our immigration laws will not escape justice. Since 2010, we have done more than any government before to clamp down on those seeking to abuse the UK's immigration system.

'The Immigration Act, which became law last year, gives us much stronger powers to identify, disrupt and deter sham marriages. In the last year we intervened in more than 2,900 suspected sham marriages — double the number from the year before.'

She added: 'Immigration Enforcement officers are working closely with registrars to ensure the referral process runs smoothly. The majority of decisions to extend the notice period are now made within a week of the couple giving notice. Registrars are also notified so they know how many cases the Home Office is investigating.'