Media watchdog Ofcom has contacted German authorities over the publication and distribution of magazines which glorify the Nazis.

Der Landser, a German magazine that honours the SS, is published by a company owned by Bauer Media Group, which runs a number of British radio stations.

Liberal Democrat peer Lord Palmer of Childs Hill and media lawyer Bruce Fireman complained to Ofcom last month. They encouraged it to investigate whether BMG was “fit and proper” to hold UK broadcasting rights.

Responding to Lord Palmer this week, Ofcom chairman Colette Bowe confirmed the watchdog had contacted “appropriate authorities” in Germany.

She said it was considering “relevant evidence on an ongoing basis” in respect of BMG’s position in Britain.

A BMG spokesperson previously said the firm voluntarily submitted issues of the magazine for examination under UK press laws, and attached “great importance to ensuring that the magazine neither trivialises nor glorifies Nazi crimes”.