We read about murders in the newspapers. We write indignant letters to the editor, urging the "authorities" to take "appropriate action." Yet, when another kind of murder is committed live on television, right in our living rooms, we do not bat an eyelid. I am of course referring to my pet hate - bad English on television.

Voiceover artistes with bad English and faux American, British or even Australian accents seem to grow like mushrooms under the studio floor. One channel has acquired new talent - the same person speaks with different accents for different promos. Unfortunately, he has got both his inflections and his accents mixed up. And this is what is watched by hundreds of thousands of children in the belief that what they hear on television ought to be right.

Switch to the sports channels and you still cannot escape. When you're not being faced with a barrage of Yorkshire and Lancashire accents, you are under attack by a torrent of tripe from the mouths of a former Indian cricketer. A high-pitched voice yells at you, screeching of someone batting like a "house of fire." And that's just one of his milder ones.

This is indeed murder most foul.