Darcus Howe in radio row in London

The pair clashed on the normally genteel midweek programme after Howe suggested that Rivers had a problem with the term "black." American star Rivers responded by screaming at Howe and branding him a "son of a bitch."

The slanging match went on for two minutes until presenter Libby Purves stepped in to calm things down, the London Evening Standard reported yesterday. Howe, a self-appointed spokesman for black rights, set things off during a discussion about race issues by remarking "Since black offends Joan..."

The comment caused Rivers to erupt in fury. She stormed, "Just stop right now. Black does not offend me. How dare you? How dare you say that? Black offends me? You know nothing about me. You just sat down here. How dare you ?" Howe clarified his comment by saying that "the use of the term black" offended Rivers.

"The use of the term black offends me? Where the hell are you coming from? You’ve got such a chip on your shoulder," she yelled. "I don’t give a damn if you’re black or white. I couldn’t care less, it’s what the person is. Don’t you dare call me a racist.

"He says that the term black offends me. I will not sit here — how dare you say that ? It’s a problem in your head. Don’t you dare call me that, you son of a bitch," she continued.

Rivers then rounded on Howe over his failings as a father. Howe has seven children by four different women and was on the programme to talk about his forthcoming Channel 4 documentary, Son of Mine.

The film explores Howe’s relationship with his 20-year-old son, Amiri, who has been in trouble with the police on several occasions.

Howe met Amiri’s mother during a holiday in Trinidad. He saw him only three or four times a year until the boy moved to London at aged eight. Rivers told Howe, "You had a child, you left him. You married a woman, you deserted her. Where were you when he was growing up, until he was eight years old?"

Purves tried to defuse the row by pleading with Howe, "Can’t we just say that you don’t think Joan is a racist?" However, Howe replied, "I don’t know whether she is a racist or not. I don’t care." Purves then ended the row by turning to her third guest, photographer Andrea Jones, and asking, "Shall we talk about plant photography?"

A Radio 4 spokeswoman said the station had received about 20 calls from listeners. "A few complained about the swearing, but most called to say they really enjoyed the debate and thought it was an interesting piece of radio," she said.