Jeremy Clarkson suspended after ‘punch thrown in fracas’

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Suspended: Top Gear presenter Jeremy Clarkson (Picture: Rex Features)

Jeremy Clarkson suspended after ‘punch thrown in fracas’

Jeremy Clarkson was today suspended from the BBC after a “fracas” with a producer in which he allegedly threw a punch.

The broadcaster suspended the Top Gear host following the incident last week, which was only reported to the corporation yesterday, the Radio Times reported.

Clarkson, 54, who is yet to comment on the move, has been the subject of several controversies during his career.

Last summer he came under fire after he used the word ‘slope’ in a special edition of Top Gear filmed in Burma, which Ofcom ruled breached broadcasting rules.

He was previously forced to apologise for appearing to use the ‘n’ word in another episode of the popular motoring show. The BBC subsequently gave him a final warning about his behaviour, according to reports.

Despite the warning, in late 2014 members of the Top Gear crew were again accused of being insensitive over an incident in Argentina.

They were forced to flee the country after trouble erupted when it emerged they were using a Porsche with the registration number H982 FKL, which some people suggested could refer to the Falklands conflict of 1982.

Commenting on the latest incident today, a BBC spokesman would not reveal details of the “fracas” which sparked Clarkson’s suspension.

He said: “Following a fracas with a BBC producer, Jeremy Clarkson has been suspended pending an investigation. No one else has been suspended. Top Gear will not be broadcast this Sunday. The BBC will be making no further comment at this time.”

Top Gear’s executive producer Andy Wilman described last year as “an annus horribilis” for the show, which is estimated to earn the BBC about £300million annually, after the racism claims and the near-riot in Argentina.

source: Evening Standard