Borat Gets Into Trouble

Sacha Baron Cohen as BoratOh dear.

Offending people is often part of the job for comedians.

But Ali G star Sacha Baron Cohen has gone one better and managed to offend a whole nation.

His comic creation Borat, the hapless reporter from Kazakhstan, has landed him in hot water with the Kazakh Ministry.

A spokesman has said the character is "utterly unacceptable" and plans legal action because the skit unfairly portrays the people of Kazakhstan.

Borat received international attention recently when Sacha hosted the MTV Europe Music Awards in character. 

Following Madonna's performance at the awards, Borat commented: "That singer before me. Who was it? It was very courageous of MTV to start the show with a genuine transvestite, he was very convincing."

Sacha Baron Cohen as himselfIn the past, the comic character, who plays pranks on unsuspecting interviewees, has claimed that Kazakh women are kept in cages, that the national sport is shooting dogs and then having a party, and that people can earn a living in Kazakhstan as 'gypsy catchers'.

The last straw for the Kazakh Ministry was when the character arrived at the awards in an Air Kazakh plane, with a one-eyed pilot tightly clutching a bottle of vodka.