Jeremy Clarkson racism claims: BBC puts Top Gear star on final warning

Host attacks the BBC for asking him to apologise over 'something I hadn't done' – and says he'll be sacked if he causes more offence

A screengrab from Jeremy Clarkson's video apology (PA)

Jeremy Clarkson has said he will be sacked by the BBC if he makes another offensive remark.

Clarkson’s final warning comes after claims he used the racist term ‘n*****r’ while reciting the nursery rhyme ‘Eeny, Meeny, Miny Moe’ during filming for BBC2’s Top Gear.

Writing in his weekly Sun column, the presenter attacked the BBC for asking him to apologise over the footage, complaining “it’s something I hadn’t done.”

"I've been told by the BBC that if I make one more offensive remark, anywhere, at any time, I will be sacked. And even the angel Gabriel would struggle to survive with that hanging over his head,” he said.

“It's inevitable that one day, someone, somewhere will say that I've offended them, and that will be that."

The Top Gear presenter was embroiled in fresh controversy earlier this week, after the Daily Mirror published unaired footage of Clarkson allegedly using the racist term ‘n*****r’ while reciting a nursery rhyme.

Clarkson issued a filmed apology via his Twitter page on Thursday.

In it, he admitted to having used the word, but said he did “everything in my power” not to.

“I'm sitting here begging your forgiveness for the fact my efforts obviously weren't quite good enough,” he said in the film.

It comes after deputy Labour leader Harriet Harman urged the BBC to sack the presenter.

"Anybody who uses the N-word in public or private in whatever context has no place in the British Broadcasting Corporation,” she said on Twitter.

But Education Secretary Michael Gove urged the corporation not to axe Clarkson because he had been "clear in his apology". And a spokesman for the Prime Minister added, “it is absolutely right that there has been an apology."

Clarkson is thought to have earned £14 million for his work on Top Gear last year, including his salary and payments related to the show's global success.

The presenter has been accused of racism before – only last week the BBC was forced to issue an apology after he appeared to have referred to an Asian man as a “slope” on a recent Top Gear episode.