Irish police have launched an investigation into whether Stephen Fry broke Ireland's blasphemy law when he described God as 'capricious, mean-minded and stupid' in a 2015 TV interview.

Fry's comments on The Meaning of Life, hosted by Gay Byrne, were in answer to a question about what he would say to God at the pearly gates. In a reply that was widely reported, he said: 'How dare you create a world in which there is such misery? It's not our fault? It's not right. It's utterly, utterly evil. Why should I respect a capricious, mean-minded, stupid god who creates a world which is so full of injustice and pain?'

If he were met by Greek gods, he said, he would be more accepting because 'they didn't present themselves as being all seeing, all wise, all beneficent'.

He added: 'Because the god who created this universe, if it was created by god, is quite clearly a maniac, an utter maniac, totally selfish.'

Under Ireland's Defamation Act of 2009, it is illegal to publish or utter blasphemous material.

According to Independent.ie, a member of the public reported Fry at the time, not because he was personally offended but because he believed Fry had broken the law. He told the website: 'In late 2016 I wrote to the Garda Commissioner Noirín O'Sullivan asking if the crime I reported was being followed up - a few weeks later I got a standard "we have received your letter" from her secretary.'

A few weeks ago the complainant was told his complainant was being investigated, though a source told Independent.ie it was 'highly unlikely' Fry would be prosecuted.

The offence carries a maximum fine of €25,000, though there have been no cases brought before the courts so far.

Ireland is the only country in the developed world to have introduced a blasphemy offence this century.