Argentina demands 'Top Gear' apology from BBC

Top Gear Stoned and Kicked Out Of Argentina After License Plates Outrage

Oct 22, 2014
Argentina demands 'Top Gear' apology from BBC





Jeremy Clarkson and his Top Gear crew are no strangers to controversy, but things got out of hand in Argentina last night when they were forced to flee the country under police escort.

What happened is that, Argentines became outraged about the license plates on one of the cars driven by Jeremy Clarkson, a Porsche 928, that read "H928 FKL", as they interpreted it as a taunting reference to the 1982 Falklands War between the UK and Argentina over a set of remote islands in the South Atlantic Ocean.

Argentina lost that war and the country is, apparently, very sensitive to the matter.

After the media learned about the license plate and made a connection to the Falklands conflict, it didn't take long for regular Argentines to attack the Top Gear crew that was filming its Christmas special.




An angry mob attacked the team with stones, forcing Clarkson and his co-presenters, Richard Hammond and James May, to abandon their cars, which included a Porsche 928, a Lotus Esprit and a Ford Mustang on the side of the road.

Now, while Argentines claim that Clarkson deliberately chose those license plates, BBC denies the accusations saying it was pure coincidence.

Andy Wilman, executive producer of Top Gear, said on Thursday on BBC: "Top Gear production purchased three cars for a forthcoming programme; to suggest that this car was either chosen for its number plate, or that an alternative number plate was substituted for the original is completely untrue."

Ironically, Clarkson had previously responded to a report on The Mirror claiming that BBC had told him to behave in Argentina on his Twitter page, with his usual humor (see below).

The team over at Jalopnik also found a video from the attack that prompted the Top Gear crew to leave their cars and run for cover.

Whether it was coincidental or not, that's not a proper way to handle situations like these, unless you support violent actions like the ones featured in another, recent, but unrelated, incident in Argentina.



LONDON (AP) — Argentina's ambassador to Britain on Tuesday demanded an apology from the BBC over an ill-fated trip by car show "Top Gear" to the South American country.

The program's crew had to leave Argentina hastily last month after they faced violent protests for driving a car with license plate H982 FKL — interpreted by some as a reference to the country's 1982 war with Britain over the disputed Falkland Islands.

The BBC insists the license plate was a coincidence, and host Jeremy Clarkson has accused Argentine officials of whipping up anger for "political capital."

The Argentine embassy in London said Ambassador Alicia Castro had complained to the BBC about Clarkson's "provocative behavior and offensive remarks toward the government and the Argentine people" and called for an apology.

"Furthermore, the Argentine ambassador deeply regretted Jeremy Clarkson's entirely false accusations of alleged resentment against British citizens in Argentina," the embassy said in a statement.

The BBC said it would follow its usual complaint procedures.

"Top Gear'''s blend of cars and blokey banter has made it one of the BBC's most successful shows, broadcast in more than 100 countries.

But the program has landed the broadcaster in trouble before. In 2011, the BBC apologized to Mexico after Clarkson and his co-hosts characterized Mexicans as lazy and oafish.

Earlier this year Clarkson asked for forgiveness following allegations that he used the racist n-word during filming for the show.