MORE then 40,000 angry Laura White fans have demanded the broadcasting watchdog probe voting on hit talent show the X Factor after she was booted off last week.
Ofcom has been urged to investigate telephone voting procedures on the show.

Organisers of two online petitions calling for her White’s reinstatement following her shock dismissal by the judges have made a formal complaint to the watchdog.

The 21-year-old Bolton student who had been one of the favourites to win this year’s X Factor was voted out on Saturday after judges Simon Cowell and Louis Walsh failed to save her.

The complaint says there has been a lack of transparency in X Factor telephone voting and that many viewers have told how they could not get through to vote for the aspiring star.

It has been submitted by the authors of two petitions, which together have more than 50,000 fans’ signatures, on petitiononline.com.

The complaint is also backed by the founder of a petition on website amazingtunes.com, which is selling tracks White recorded before going on the show.

'Evidence'

The petition states: “We write on behalf of 50,000 members of the public who have so far signed petitions of complaint. There is a body of evidence to suggest that there are major issues concerning telephone voting on the above programme.

“The main thrust of our complaint is that there is no transparency regarding the total number of votes and how many votes each contestant received. In addition, many thousands of viewers are convinced that either their call was blocked or their vote misappropriated.”

Girls Aloud star Cheryl Cole, who was White’s mentor, reportedly argued with Walsh after Saturday night’s show, when her singer went head-to-head with Spanish contestant Ruth Lorenzo.

Culture Secretary Andy Burnham, who is also MP for the Leigh area, where Laura’s parents live, even waded into the row, telling MPs that the ‘wonderful and talented' singer had been 'harshly’ treated by the judges.

Leona Lewis, last year’s winner, and hit singer Lily Allen have also expressed their shock, surprise at the outcome, with Lewis saying: “I was outraged, screaming at the TV and stuff. I was surprised.”