Sky News presenter Kay Burley has been cleared over her interview with the chief executive of Alton Towers’ owners, despite almost 2,000 complaints about her style of questioning.

The news came as the number of signatures on a petition on Change.org, calling for the presenter to be sacked over the incident, topped 55,000.

The broadcasting regulator received 1,816 complaints about Burley’s interview with Nick Varney, chief executive of Merlin Entertainment, as she grilled him about the accident on the park’s Smiler ride that left 16 people injured.

Kay Burley’s interview with the chief exective of Alton Towers’ owners

“Ofcom received a number of complaints about Kay Burley’s questioning style during an interview about an accident at Alton Towers,” said a spokesman for Ofcom. “We have carefully assessed whether this interview exceeded generally accepted standards.”

The media regulator said that it was not moving to a formal investigation because Varney was given ample opportunity to put his position on the accident to viewers.

“In our view, the interviewee was able to respond fully to the questions and put his position across,” said the spokesman. “As a result, we have not taken the matter forward for investigation.”