First black Miss England sparks controversy

Rachel Christie is the first Miss England who is black. Christie, 20, a heptathlete from London, is the niece of Olympic gold medal-winning sprinter Linford Christie.

But her election has already sparked controversy. Not because she is black, but because she won with only nine votes from the public. The runner up won the public vote with 2,013 votes. But in spite of low public vote the organisers chose Rachel Christie as Miss England 2009.

The organisers defended their vote. Angie Beasley, director of Miss England, said the public played only a part in the contest, choosing one of the 15 top finalists with this vote amounting effectively to a seventh judge in the final selection. Read Organisers defend Miss England vote

See Uk blog Mad news for some black responses.