Clarkson Comparison
The BBC is looking increasingly stupid over its handling of the latest fracas involving Jeremy Clarkson, the presenter of Top Gear.
Not only has it taken the Beeb a full week to get a formal investigation up and running (what do all these managers do all day?), but one of its senior executives appears to have been briefing The Mail newspaper that there is some kind of comparison to be made between Jeremy Clarkson and the notorious paedophile Jimmy Savile.
Which for obvious reasons has upset Savile's victims no end.
Savile victims attack Clarkson comparison
Jeremy Clarkson seen leaving his west London home on Friday Getty Images
By Kaya Burgess - The Times
Victims of Jimmy Savile have criticised a BBC executive who allegedly claimed that leading politicians, including David Cameron, who back Jeremy Clarkson were similar to those who supported the late sex offender.
An internal inquiry is due to begin today into the “fracas” involving Clarkson, which allegedly left a Top Gear producer needing hospital treatment.
Clarkson is alleged to have split the lip of Oisin Tymon, 36, in a row over the lack of hot food after a day’s work on location in Yorkshire. Neither Clarkson nor Mr Tymon have commented on the precise details of the incident that triggered Clarkson’s suspension, leading to speculation over whether the confrontation was alcohol-fuelled or whether the presenter’s grievances related to issues with the day’s filming.
The Mail on Sunday reported yesterday that it had been given a “wideranging official briefing” by a senior BBC figure, who allegedly described the pressure on Mr Tymon as “so Savile-esque”.
David Cameron and Maria Miller, the former culture secretary, have paid tribute to Clarkson since his suspension. The BBC figure allegedly said: “If you look at what [they said] and you swap Clarkson for Savile, you get this: David Cameron is effectively saying that Savile’s a real talent, Maria Miller saying ‘Savile will be Savile’.”
It was taken as a reference to the support that Jimmy Savile, the sex offender, received at the height of his fame from figures such as Margaret Thatcher. It is not known who made the comment or how senior they were.
Yesterday, victims of the late sex offender denounced the comparisons. Liz Dux, a lawyer from Slater and Gordon, which is representing 169 of the victims, said: “Many of Savile’s victims find a direct parallel between these issues to be upsetting and highly inappropriate. One victim said that while both have celebrity status, to suggest other similarities is totally offensive.”
The comparison was described as “completely absurd” and “deeply offensive” by Conor Burns, a Conservative MP on the media select committee.
Today’s investigation will be led by the man who examined the botched Newsnight report that falsely accused a Conservative peer of involvement in a child abuse scandal. Ken MacQuarrie, director of BBC Scotland, will interview key figures including Clarkson, who reported the incident himself to bosses.
The unnamed BBC figure also reportedly said that Clarkson should consider “going into rehab” after a string of controversies that left him on a final warning last year.
The BBC declined to confirm if Mr Tymon had been forced to visit A&E after the incident or if Clarkson had called him a “lazy Irish c***”, as alleged in the Daily Mirror. A spokesman for Mr Tymon’s lawyers said that he would not comment until after the inquiry.
Clarkson’s contract is due to expire at the end of the month and may run out before the BBC’s inquiry reports. His friend, the critic AA Gill, wrote yesterday that Clarkson had “lost his rag after a difficult and tiring day”.
