BBC says sorry to Mexico for Top Gear insults

Corporation says comments may have been rude and mischievous, but there was no vindictiveness behind them

The BBC said today it had apologised to the Mexican ambassador over remarks on the motoring show Top Gear but also defended the show's presenters, who branded Mexicans "lazy", "feckless" and "flatulent", saying national-stereotyping was part of British humour.

Eduardo Medina-Mora Icaza wrote to the BBC to complain about the "outrageous, vulgar and inexcusable insults" made on the programme.

The BBC said it had now written to the ambassador to say it was sorry if the programme caused offence.

In a statement, the corporation said the comments may have been "rude" and "mischievous", but there was no "vindictiveness" behind them.

It said: "Our own comedians make jokes about the British being terrible cooks and terrible romantics, and we in turn make jokes about the Italians being disorganised and overdramatic, the French being arrogant and the Germans being overorganised.

"Whilst it may appear offensive to those who have not watched the programme or who are unfamiliar with its humour, the executive producer has made it clear to the ambassador that that was absolutely not the show's intention."

The BBC said stereotype-based comedy was allowed within its guidelines in programmes where the audience knew it could be expected.

The executive producer of Top Gear also apologised to the ambassador personally for remarks made about him.

In the episode, broadcast on 30 January, Richard Hammond joked that Mexican cars reflected national characteristics, saying they were "just going to be lazy, feckless, flatulent oaf with a moustache, leaning against a fence asleep, looking at a cactus with a blanket with a hole in the middle on as a coat".

James May described Mexican food as "like sick with cheese on it" and Jeremy Clarkson predicted they would not get any complaints about the show because "at the Mexican embassy, the ambassador is going to ! be sitti ng there with a remote control like this (snores). They won't complain, it's fine".

In his letter to the BBC, the ambassador wrote: "The presenters of the programme resorted to outrageous, vulgar and inexcusable insults to stir bigoted feelings against the Mexican people, their culture as well as their official representative in the United Kingdom.

"These offensive, xenophobic and humiliating remarks only serve to reinforce negative stereotypes and perpetuate prejudice against Mexico and its people."

The ambassador demanded the show's hosts make a public apology and it remains to be seen if the BBC's response to his complaints have gone far enough. Hundreds of Mexicans contacted the BBC to protest against the remarks, which caused national outrage.

Yesterday, a cross-party group of six MPs urged the BBC to apologise as "a matter of urgency", saying "this level of ignorance is far below anything expected from anyone in the public eye and illustrates a serious lack of judgment by the programme-makers".

It is not the first time the show, with its blend of motoring news, schoolboy humour and audacious stunts, has got into trouble. In 2008, the show was rapped by the BBC Trust for showing Clarkson and May sipping gin and tonics at the wheel during a stunt.

Hundreds of viewers also complained after Clarkson made a joke about lorry drivers murdering prostitutes.


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