TV host resigns after insulting Indian official's name

A New Zealand television host whose comments about an Indian official sparked a diplomatic protest of racism from India has resigned from his job.

Controversial presenter Paul Henry resigned from state broadcaster Television New Zealand after he caused official complaints over mocking the last name of New Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit.

Giggling uncontrollably, Mr Henry repeatedly mocked the last name of Chief Minister Dikshit on the breakfast show. He also called her name "so appropriate because she's Indian".

To an untrained ear, Dikshit's last name sounds very similar to how it is spelled in English, though it has no vulgar connotations in Hindi.

Mr Henry, regarded as a provocative "shock jock" said in a statement it is "no longer practical in the current environment for me to do the job I was employed to do".