AFP; The National staff
The BBC announced Wednesday March 25 that it was dropping one of its most popular presenters, Top Gear host Jeremy Clarkson, after he verbally and physically attacked producer Oisin Tymon.
“It is with great regret that I have told Jeremy Clarkson today that the BBC will not be renewing his contract,” BBC Director-General Tony Hall said, two weeks after the presenter was suspended from the hit motoring show.
His contract expires at the end of this month; Tymon will continue to work at the company.
It is expected that Top Gear, one of BBC Two's most popular programmes, will continue without Clarkson,
Hall said in a statement: “It is with great regret that I have told Jeremy Clarkson today that the BBC will not be renewing his contract. It is not a decision I have taken lightly. I have done so only after a very careful consideration of the facts and after personally meeting both Jeremy and Oisin Tymon.
“I am grateful to Ken MacQuarrie for the thorough way he has conducted an investigation of the incident on 4th March. Given the obvious and very genuine public interest in this I am publishing the findings of his report. I take no pleasure in doing so. I am only making them public so people can better understand the background. I know how popular the programme is and I also know that this decision will divide opinion. The main facts are not disputed by those involved.”
He added: "This decision should in no way detract from the extraordinary contribution that Jeremy Clarkson has made to the BBC. I have always personally been a great fan of his work and Top Gear. Jeremy is a huge talent. He may be leaving the BBC but I am sure he will continue to entertain, challenge and amuse audiences for many years to come."
MacQuarrie, who carried out the inquiry said that he established that “On 4 March 2015 Oisin Tymon was subject to an unprovoked physical and verbal attack by Jeremy Clarkson. During the physical attack Oisin Tymon was struck, resulting in swelling and bleeding to his lip. The verbal abuse was sustained over a longer period, both at the time of the physical attack and subsequently”.
Clarkson was suspended on March 10 after a “fracas” with Tymon in a Yorkshire hotel over the lack of hot food provided adter a day of filming.
The internal investigation began last week.
