Scott Mills axe mocked on Have I Got News For You as BBC host divides audience with controversial remark

Following his exit, The Mirror reported that Mr Mills was questioned by police over historic allegations of sexual abuse against a boy under the age of 16.

The Met Police confirmed the historic allegations dated back to between 1997 and 2000. A man in his 40s was questioned in 2018 after the police launched an investigation into the allegations in 2016.

In 2019, the case was dropped after the Crown Prosecution Service deemed there was insufficient evidence, and it did not meet the evidential threshold to proceed. No charges were ever brought.

It is not known what role, if any, the investigation played in Mr Mills's departure.

Mr Mills issued a statement on Wednesday addressing his axe and confirming he was the man questioned by police during its investigation.

The BBC, meanwhile, also published a statement on Wednesday, saying it discovered "new information" about Mr Mills.

It has since been reported that the age of the alleged victim was the "new information" learned by the BBC.

Inevitably, given the high-profile nature of Mr Mills' axe, topical panel show Have I Got News For You addressed the developments during Friday's show.

American comedian Roy Wood Jr chaired the programme, with Armando Iannucci and Anushka Asthana joining team captains Ian Hislop and Paul Merton.

During one segment, Mr Wood Jr asked fans to guess what headlines were emerging from other parts of the globe. When attention turned to Japan, journalist Ms Asthana said: "It's not the chair thing, is it?"

As Mr Wood Jr confirmed she was right, Ms Asthana went on: "You know why I know it? I presented Channel 4 News on the weekend, and we did it as a story.

"It's amazing. It's an office chair race. And you push yourself along on your chair-" she continued before Mr Hislop interjected: "Was nothing else happening in the world for Channel 4 News to cover?"

After a clip of the race played, laughter erupted in the audience, before Mr Merton commented: "What makes that a particularly funny is the seriousness of their faces while doing this ludicrous activity."

The panel engaged in further quips about the news story before Mr Wood Jr spotted the opportunity to mock the headlines surrounding Mr Mills.

"This is a Japanese sport of office chair racing. Racers can attain speeds of over 20 miles an hour," he teed up.

"This is the fastest anyone's moved on an office chair since Scott Mills was pushed out of the BBC."

The joke appeared to prove controversial with the Have I Got News For You audience, with gasps audible over a smattering of laughs.

The jibe came just 48 hours after Mr Mills said publicly: "The recent announcement that I am no longer contracted to the BBC has led to the publication of rumour and speculation.

"In response to this, the Metropolitan Police has made a statement, which I confirm relates to me. An allegation was made against me in 2016 of a historic sexual offence, which was the subject of a police investigation in which I fully cooperated and responded to in 2018.

"As the police have stated, a file of evidence was submitted to the Crown Prosecution Service, which determined that the evidential threshold had not been met to bring charges.

"Since the investigation related to an allegation that dates back nearly 30 years and the police investigation was closed seven years ago, I hope that the public and the media will understand and respect my wish not to make any further public comment on this matter.

"I wish to thank from the bottom of my heart all those who have reached out to me with kindness, my former colleagues, and my beloved listeners, who I greatly miss."