Comic Frankie Boyle sparks fury with series of mocking Twitter jokes

His comments have already drawn condemnation from many Twitter users including Olympic silver medallist Lizzie Armitstead, from Otley, who said: “Frankie Boyle isn’t funny.”

The comedian joked that the Saudi Arabian team at the competition are “mainly thieves”, referring to how some criminals have had their hands cut off for stealing.

In another message he posted to Twitter during the opening ceremony, he said: “I’m going down to the blind football to shout that the referee’s a deaf bastard.”

In 2009 Boyle was censured by the BBC Trust for comments about Olympic swimmer Rebecca Adlington, following her gold-winning success at Beijing the previous year.

Boyle returned to Channel 4 – the official Paralympics broadcaster – earlier this week with The Boyle Variety Performance. A previous series for the station, Tramadol Nights, prompted more than 500 complaints after he mocked Katie Price’s disabled son.

His tweets on Wednesday night also targeted the Queen who declared the Games open during the ceremony at the Olympic Stadium. “The Queen hasn’t cracked a smile since Diana died,” he said.

In another message he said: “I’d love to have the skill and dedication of some of these Paralympians, almost as much as I’d like to have their meds.”