When Stuart Hall appeared on BBC Radio 5 Live eight years ago telling listeners: "Your average 10-year-old can instruct you in oral or anal sex," the corporation defended his comments as "satirical banter".

The veteran broadcaster's admission, revealed on Thursday, of a string of historic sex offences against girls aged between nine and 17 casts his comments in a different, horrific light. Hall made the comments in a 2005 edition of 5 Live's Saturday morning panel show, Fighting Talk.

Living up to his reputation for outspoken views and colourful language, Hall told the programme that Zimbabwean cricketers should "black up" and branded Zimbabwe's president, Robert Mugabe, a "witch doctor".

"Zimbabwe is a wonderful country. I have been there umpteen times and it is being brought to extinction by Mugabe," said Hall. "The average life expectancy is 33, so if you are not dying from Aids, malnutrition, starvation, deprivation or stagnation, don your flannels, black up [and] play leather on willow. [With] Mugabe as captain and witch doctor, imagine him out at Lords casting a tincture of bats' tongues and gorillas' gonads … Give cricket a shot in the bails it needs!"

But it was his comments, when asked about footballers' rights to use foul language on the field of play, that make for the most disturbing reading. "This is all nonsense. People are getting hot under the collar about nothing," he said. "Your average 10-year-old can instruct you in oral or anal sex."

Following the reference to anal sex, one of Hall's fellow panellists could be heard saying: "Welcome to the last ever Fighting Talk." In fact, the programme has become a fixture of the 5 Live schedules.

A BBC spokeswoman, in the week after the programme's broadcast, defended Hall's comments as satirical banter. She said it had received no complaints about Hall's comments, although two people had objected to a reference to Travellers Hall made elsewhere in the programme.

"We have had no complaints from listeners in response to these specific comments made by Stuart Hall," she said. "On this programme guests often say things which are lively and provocative, but we believe our listeners recognise these comments are satirical banter."

The BBC said on Thursday it was "appalled by the disgraceful actions of Stuart Hall and we would like to express our sympathy to his victims".

Suspended from his 5 Live reporting job in December last year when the allegations were first made, Hall will not again be contracted to work for the BBC.

It remains to be seen whether any of the offences took place on the corporation's premises. The BBC said it would "continue to work with the police to assist them in this and any other inquiries they are making".

The BBC's director of human resources, Lucy Adams, described the Hall offences as "sickening". "Every one of these cases horrifies everyone at the BBC," she told 5 Live.