CHILDREN UNDER the age of 16 are to be banned from catwalks and fashion shoots by the world's biggest modelling agency, the Elite group in New York, which is also encouraging other agencies to follow suit.

The company announced its change in policy after the recent investigation by Donal MacIntyre, an undercover BBC reporter, into alleged sexual exploitation and drug abuse in the agency's European sister firm, Elite Europe.

John Casablancas, chairman of the group, has drawn up a new code of conduct barring under-16s from being models and under-18s from travelling abroad to work unless they are accompanied by a relative. He is urging all New York-based model agencies to implement the same policy, which will apply to all Elite's centres of operation and come into effect next month.

Mr MacIntyre's programme prompted the resignation of Gerald Marie, Elite's European president, and Xavier Moreau, president of the Elite Model Look Contest. Two other employees have been suspended. In MacIntyre Undercover, Mr Marie was filmed propositioning an investigator Lisa Brinkworth, when she posed as a model, allegedly offering her pounds 300 to sleep with him. He has since dismissed the offer as a "drunken joke". He also said he wanted to seduce finalists from the Elite Model Look Contest, whose average age is 15, according to the BBC.

Mr Moreau was recorded saying to friends over dinner: "Africa would be OK if they were all white", and later: "I don't like black girls". The programme also included various accounts of illegal drug- taking.

After the programme was broadcast Mr Casablancas rushed out an "unconditional apology to models and their families".