Watchdog clears Clarkson
Top GEAR presenter Jeremy Clarkson’s comment that striking public sector workers “should be shot” did not breach broadcasting rules, TV watchdog Ofcom has ruled.
Clarkson was forced to apologise and the regulator launched an investigation after his remark, made on The One Show, sparked around 31,700 complaints and led to condemnation from union leaders and politicians, with Prime Minister David Cameron branding the TV star’s statement “silly”.
On November 30, on the evening of Britain’s biggest public sector strikes for 30 years, Clarkson said that he would take the striking workers outside and “execute them in front of their families”.
Ofcom said that the comments, while “potentially offensive”, were justified by the context.