Jeremy Clarkson calls in lawyers over BBC chief’s Jimmy Savile comparison
Jeremy Clarkson has called in lawyers after a senior BBC employee compared him to Jimmy Savile.
The saga surrounding the controversial Top Gear presenter, currently on suspension for his involvement in a "fracas" with producer Oisin Tymon, looks set to rumble on as Clarkson responds to comments originally published in the Mail on Sunday.
An anonymous BBC employee told the paper politicians were ignoring Clarkson’s behaviour in the same way allegations directed towards sex offender Jimmy Savile were deflected.
According to the Daily Mail, Clarkson is aware of the identity of the source and has instructed his lawyers to seek an immediate retraction from the BBC.
The source said:
The pressure on this guy [Tymon] is so Savilesque in a way. If you look at what David Cameron says or what Maria Miller says 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.
Cameron was seen to defend the presenter last week by saying his children would be “heartbroken” if Top Gear was taken off the BBC.
The Top Gear presenter is alleged to have punched Tymon in a dispute over food after a day of shooting the show.
The final three episodes of the show's 2015 series have since been cancelled as the BBC conducts an internal investigation into the incident, causing a crash in viewers last Sunday on BBC2.
However, the presenter could reappear on BBC as soon as next month, as guest presenter on Have I Got News For You.
Jimmy Mulville, managing director of the show’s producer Hat Trick, said: “As far as I'm concerned he is hosting Have I Got News For You, the BBC has not told me what to do yet and it will be an interesting conversation.”