A Harry Enfield comedy sketch in which a Filipina maid is shown being talked into having sex with a lazy Briton is causing diplomatic ructions between London and Manila.

The British Ambassador to the Philippines was summoned by the country's foreign minister to explain the allegedly offensive clip broadcast on the BBC but has refused to apologise and defended the right to editorial independence.

“The UK respects freedom of expression and free exchange of ideas. The BBC has editorial independence, and views expressed or portrayed by the BBC are completely independent from those of the UK government,” a statement issued by the Embassy in Manila said.

The controversy broke out after the sketch was broadcast last week, prompting complaints and an online petition organised by Filipino expatriates in the UK. Letters of complaint were sent by the Philippine Embassy in the UK to the Government, the Press Complaints Commission, and the BBC. In one of the letters Edgardo Espiritu, the Philippine Ambassador to the UK, described the portrayal of Filipino women in the sketch as “very malicious and a blatant display of racial prejudice”.

Raul Gonzalez, the country's justice minister has also spoken out, pledging to sign a petition that demanded a BBC apology.

“I don't like our fellow Filipinos to be insulted,” he said.

The sketch showed a Filipina in a maid's uniform wiggling her backside while a British man encourages his unenthusiastic and lethargic neighbour to “mount her”. He points at the maid and tells her to “present your rear”.

In Manila, Risa Hontiveros, an MP and women's rights activists, demanded an apology, calling the episode “revolting and disgusting”.

Tiger Aspect Productions who produce the show said: “Harry and Paul is a post watershed comedy sketch series. Set in this context, the sketch in question is so far beyond the realms of reality as to be absurd – and in no way is intended to demean or upset any viewer.”