The government has sought to play down the row over the Channel 4 programme Brass Eye, with Downing Street saying it does not want to dictate what should be broadcast.

The row follows a series of ministerial criticisms of the programme, which satirised media coverage of paedophilia. Culture minister Tessa Jowell said initially that "if this is considered acceptable then we are tearing down all the boundaries of decency on television".

Child protection minister Beverley Hughes, who admitted she had not seen the programme, fuelled the controversy, saying the programme was "unspeakably sick". Home secretary David Blunkett was also said to be angered by the broadcast.

Jowell spoke to Michael Jackson from Channel 4 and Robin Biggam from the Independent Television Commission on Monday to highlight her concern over the broadcast.

Channel 4 went ahead with a repeat of the programme on Friday despite a high level of complaints. Jowell now wants the ITC to consider reacting quicker when it receives complaints, but the standards watchdog has said that due process must be followed.

Speaking on Monday, the prime minister's official spokesman ruled out any fundamental review or wholesale changes to the regulation of the media. The government is urging the ITC to look at how it can react quicker in situations where a programme is scheduled to be repeated.

"Satire is very important. It has a valuable role to play in highlighting issues and asking questions about how we as a society deal with difficult issues. Challenging television has an important role to play, but there are limits to satire and there have to be boundaries of decency," said the Downing Street spokesman.

Channel 4 defended the programme, suggesting its critics were "missing the point of the satire". The station added that the programme asked "hard questions about the way society and the media deal with its most difficult problems".

During the show, a number of celebrities and politicians made increasingly ridiculous comments about use of the internet by paedophiles, including the suggestion that toxic vapours from keyboards could make children more susceptible. The programme also featured an angry mob burning a paedophile and a man in stocks being offered a young boy.

Over 2500 complaints about the programme have so far been made.