Clarkson prostitute joke puts BBC in spotlight again

JEREMY CLARKSON has sparked fresh BBC controversy by joking about murdering prostitutes.

The Top Gear presenter, 48, made the quip about lorry drivers killing sex workers on last night’s BBC2 show.

As he completed a lorry-driving task, he said: “This is a hard job and I’m not just saying that to win favour with lorry drivers, it’s a hard job.

“Change gear, change gear, change gear, check mirror, murder a prostitute, change gear, change gear, murder. That’s a lot of effort in a day.”

His comments come after serial killer Steve Wright was convicted in February of murdering five prostitutes in Ipswich.

Wright was a former lorry driver, as well as pub landlord and forklift truck driver.

Clarkson’s joke, made before the watershed, sparked 188 complaints to the BBC, out of what the corporation said was seven million viewers.

The Iceni Project, a charity which had helped some of the murdered prostitutes in Ipswich, criticised the remark.

Broadcasting watchdog Ofcom said it had been contacted by viewers angry at the remarks.

John Beyer, the director of pressure group Mediawatch-UK, said: “I think it’s difficult to justify. Jeremy Clarkson has been careless.”

The remarks come after a prank carried out by Jonathan Ross and Russell Brand on Radio 2 led to the controller of the station, Lesley Douglas, resigning.