BY GABRIEL PRINCEWILL
Sacked top gear Presenter, Jeremy Clarkson will go to jail if the BBC disclose to the police the same story that have been presented to the public. The speculation is now over: Jeremy Clarkson has now been SACKED!
A BBC internal inquiry overseen by Scotland boss Ken MacQuerne concluded that BBC producer Oison Tymon was struck by Clarkson during ”an unprovoked 30 second physical attack resulting in swelling and bleeding to his lips”. Tymon was first subjected to a tirade of verbal abuse before Clarkson pounced on him. Tymon provided no resistance to the attack either because of fear or sheer wisdom. The described action committed by Clarkson is commonly known as grievous bodily harm and it is an imprisonable offence. North Yorkshire police have already asked for a copy of the BBC report and have vowed to take appropriate action where necessary after it has been assessed appropriately. It does not take much genius to figure out that short of backtrack on the evidence of what transpired between Clarkson and his producer colleague, the veteran presenter may have to pay top lawyers to argue diminishing responsibility owing to mental health problems if he is to escape jail. It is the only chance he has of escaping jail. Clarkson reportedly lashed out at Oison Tymon because he could not have an 802 Sirlon Steak with potatoes after a hard days filming, but was offered a platter of cold meat with cheese instead.
Could this rich presenter not have made a simple phone call to any restaurant or café and get the meal he wanted, or driven to the nearest restaurant after rebuking the producer if he was not happy? Simple common sense, but as the saying goes, common sense is not common to everybody. Clarkson on the face of it seems to be of sound mind, notwithstanding the several indiscretions that have blemished an otherwise outstanding career spanning many years in television and journalism. However, beneath that outgoing exterior of his undoubtedly lies a seriously defective character marked by an impulsive urge to be reckless first and reflect later, if at all he does the latter. The popular presenter whose popularity has surely dwindled if only marginally, is reported to have once told the BBC 1’S the one show that striking public sector workers should be shot as a welcome antidote to the era of political correctness. It was not long after his careless statement that he knowingly recited a song with racially charged undertones when he last year he recited a racist version of a children’s country rhyme saying eeny meeny, miny moe” and the mumbled catch a nxxxxx by his toe”. His racist antics were exposed by The Mirror newspaper but Clarkson initially tried to deny his shamefully racist act. Lawyer, Lawrence Davies at the time blasted him saying ” Clarkson has to be sacked no matter how much money he makes for the BBC” .The reckless presenter nevertheless escaped with impunity following a senseless defence that carried as much weight as the feather of a bird.
Let’s make no mistake, this awful misdemeanour was undoubtedly racist, and came not long after he was caught using the term ”slope” whilst filming in Thailand for the flagship BBC show despite the fact he earned £14m courtesy of the firm’s stake in exploiting Top gear’s global brand. The man is simply very foolish and arrogant! He may have been a good presenter, but all that is overshadowed by his stupidity. The petition of over 0ne million fans just goes to show that many people put popularity above content of character. Just listen to the comment by his colleague James May: he says Clarkson is a knob but I like him. I bet! Sounds like another way of saying ”I want to continue to associate with his fame and popularity even though he acts like an imbecile”. Who wants a knob as a role model in today’s troubled society ? May later added ”James May, Richard Hammond and Jeremy Clarkson come as a bunch”, basically saying ‘if he goes, we go. We at the eye of media say ‘all of you go! We won’t be held ransom by individuals who cannot behave and respect the rule of law.
The message Clarkson was giving the public was that he was untouchable because of who he is- a misconceived view that many great men or perceived great men have had before their great fall from grace came. He is not the first in the BBC who has held this flawed perspective even though many got away with it before history caught up with them. We now know that BBC’s director, Danny Cohen had intended to take disciplinary action against Clarkson at the time , but was overruled by Hall, the man who has now been compelled to take the decisive action and show Clarkson the door he should have been shown a long time ago.
Hall truly points out this time that ”we cannot have one rule for one and another rule for another dictated by either rank or public relations and commercial relations”. Oh what music to my ears, to hear the commonly shared notion that justice must be uniformly applied. This rhetoric seemed to be at odds with what we were hearing from our prime minister not long ago, who chose to focus on Clarkson being a ‘huge talent’ , but in a U turn statement through his spokesman stated ”if you do something wrong at work there can be consequences”. It is pertinent to point out that Clarkson did not just do something wrong, he committed a criminal act! Criminal acts of violence always have consequences if they come to the notice of the authorities. It was an error of judgement for the prime Minister to implicitly endorse his support for the re-instatement of the repeat offender publicly. Cameron is said to be a personal friend of Clarkson which explains why he defended him, but he would have been better of remaining silent than leaving himself open to legitimate criticism. Especially whilst an election in which he hopes to be re-elected is so close. We all want a reliable leader with good judgement, not one who sticks up for his friends even when they have broken the law. The prime ministers sentiments were tantamount to the very ones denounced by the BBC ruling that we can’t have one rule for one and another rule for another. The U turn he made denotes conflicting statements- the very thing politicians are known for and responsible citizens of this country abhor.
Clarkson is said to have reported himself to the BBC following the fracas rather than gamble on the possibility that his victim might choose to keep it quiet. The only logic to his choice to report himself is that he knew someone else would, or that he was convinced they will find out somehow since the producer had to go to hospital for treatment.
Top gear has a weekly audience of 5 million viewers for its commercial show and generates a handsome £50 million annually. It will be interesting to see whether Clarkson’s departure will mark the demise of the show. His prospects of having another show has now been seriously cast in doubt because of the likelihood he will eventually be arrested by the police. As one of our writers pointed out in a frank article yesterday, many popular television shows have survived a change of popular presenters over the years. There is no reason why this one should be different. The BBC will surely have little problem finding a fitting replacement for Clarkson, one with a much better temperament and higher level of restraint. BBC 2 presenter Chris Evans is one of those being persuaded to take the job, although he declined the offer before Clarkson officially got the boot. Experienced formula 1 presenter Suzie Perry is another also being considered for the job. Quality presenter Suzie Perry has presented formula 1 for 13 years and has no blemishes on her resume. She has the class and wherewithal to connect with the public adequately. Likeable model Jodie Kidd is also a possibility with her warm and down to earth persona. Comedian John Bishop is also on the unofficial shortlist and has distanced himself from Clarkson from the outset.
Whoever is chosen to replace Clarkson will likely keep top gear viewers equally enthused without descending to the sort of lows that require official statements to be given in defence of embarrassing presenters until they eventually nail themselves in the coffin. Jeremy Clarkson’s days of boundless misbehaviour on top gear are finally over. He has got away with too much for too long, it is now time for him to get paid in his own coin. Clarkson had before now threatened to get lawyers for the BBC on the scene in any event he is sacked. Well, that time has come now. His lawyers won’t be able to save him on this one, no matter how much he pays.
