Hosts of motoring television shows rarely generate headlines, but the furore over the suspension of Top Gear host Jeremy Clarkson reveals much about British society and the national broadcaster the BBC.
Clarkson, who was already on his last warning from the BBC, was suspended on Tuesday following a "fracas" with an assistant producer, which is now subject to an investigation. He hinted yesterday that he could be about to leave the broadcaster, calling himself a "dinosaur" and adding: "The day must come when you have to wave goodbye to the big monsters" in his column for The Sun newspaper.
To his supporters, Clarkson is a humorous, straight-talking, man-of-the-people standing up to the petty bureaucracy and political correctness which they blame for the country’s ills.
In the eyes of his detractors, he is a boorish bigot who speaks only for out-of-touch white men and whose friendship with the country’s most powerful figures belies his anti-establishment posturing.
Caught in the middle is the BBC, for whom Clarkson has worked since 1988, turning the show from a specialist programme aimed at petrolheads into a weekly hit watched by five million people in Britain, about 40 per cent of them female.
Top Gear has also become a global hit, with more than 350 million viewers in 214 countries, and earns about £50 million (Dh270m) in revenue each year for the broadcaster's commercial arm, BBC Worldwide.
But given recent events, the BBC faces a dilemma over whether to keep its troublesome star or risk further trouble down the line.
"It is a bureaucratic machine that must try to please everybody, because everybody pays for it," said the weekly newspaper The Economist, referring to the yearly licence fee paid by British television viewers.
In the short-term, the BBC is likely to have to compensate foreign broadcasters for cancelling the remaining shows in the current series that was being filmed when Clarkson was suspended.
Uncertainty also looms over a sold-out live event in Stavanger, Norway, which is scheduled for March 27 and 28.
Many believe that commercial concerns have allowed Clarkson to stay on despite a series of controversies over race.
Most damaging for Clarkson have been accusations of using the N-word while reciting an old nursery rhyme in leaked footage, something the presenter denied.
The show also drew controversy after a racially offensive Clarkson comment about an Asian man. Last year, the Top Gear crew including Clarkson fled Argentina after residents hurled stones at a Porsche they were driving whose licence plates appeared to reference the Falklands war.
Top Gear has also landed in hot water over its depictions of Albanians, Romanians and Germans, while the BBC apologised to Mexico after the show described Mexicans as "lazy" and "feckless". "His antics ... suggest that he holds his employer in contempt and sees it as a bit of a mission, pushing the boundaries of what he sees as its political correctness," said Deborah Orr, columnist with the left-leaning The Guardian. "It's time for a parting of the ways."
A YouGov poll found that 45 per cent of Britons think Clarkson should be sacked, although a petition calling for his reinstatement has already received more than 800,000 signatures.
Clarkson has often played on the perception among right-wingers that the BBC is more concerned with spreading left-wing messages.
Rod Liddle, a columnist for The Spectator, echoed this sentiment, saying Clarkson "doesn't toe the usual PC (politically correct) line".
“I had the suspicion that they would get him, one of these days,” Liddle wrote.
But Clarkson’s opponents deride his image as an outsider, pointing to his connections in politics, media and show business.
The group known as the “Chipping Norton set” after the town west of London where many live or have a home includes the British Prime Minister David Cameron, who has rallied to Clarkson’s defence, calling him “a great talent”.
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
In the Restaurant: Society in Four Courses
Christoph Ribbat
Translated by Jamie Searle Romanelli
Pushkin Press
The Settlers
Director: Louis Theroux
Starring: Daniella Weiss, Ari Abramowitz
Rating: 5/5
UK's plans to cut net migration
Under the UK government’s proposals, migrants will have to spend 10 years in the UK before being able to apply for citizenship.
Skilled worker visas will require a university degree, and there will be tighter restrictions on recruitment for jobs with skills shortages.
But what are described as "high-contributing" individuals such as doctors and nurses could be fast-tracked through the system.
Language requirements will be increased for all immigration routes to ensure a higher level of English.
Rules will also be laid out for adult dependants, meaning they will have to demonstrate a basic understanding of the language.
The plans also call for stricter tests for colleges and universities offering places to foreign students and a reduction in the time graduates can remain in the UK after their studies from two years to 18 months.
Dust and sand storms compared
Sand storm
- Particle size: Larger, heavier sand grains
- Visibility: Often dramatic with thick "walls" of sand
- Duration: Short-lived, typically localised
- Travel distance: Limited
- Source: Open desert areas with strong winds
Dust storm
- Particle size: Much finer, lightweight particles
- Visibility: Hazy skies but less intense
- Duration: Can linger for days
- Travel distance: Long-range, up to thousands of kilometres
- Source: Can be carried from distant regions
How does ToTok work?
The calling app is available to download on Google Play and Apple App Store
To successfully install ToTok, users are asked to enter their phone number and then create a nickname.
The app then gives users the option add their existing phone contacts, allowing them to immediately contact people also using the application by video or voice call or via message.
Users can also invite other contacts to download ToTok to allow them to make contact through the app.
House-hunting
Top 10 locations for inquiries from US house hunters, according to Rightmove
- Edinburgh, Scotland
- Westminster, London
- Camden, London
- Glasgow, Scotland
- Islington, London
- Kensington and Chelsea, London
- Highlands, Scotland
- Argyll and Bute, Scotland
- Fife, Scotland
- Tower Hamlets, London
Draw
Quarter-finals
Real Madrid (ESP) or Manchester City (ENG) v Juventus (ITA) or Lyon (FRA)
RB Leipzig (GER) v Atletico Madrid (ESP)
Barcelona (ESP) or Napoli (ITA) v Bayern Munich (GER) or Chelsea (ENG)
Atalanta (ITA) v Paris Saint-Germain (FRA)
Ties to be played August 12-15 in Lisbon
How has net migration to UK changed?
The figure was broadly flat immediately before the Covid-19 pandemic, standing at 216,000 in the year to June 2018 and 224,000 in the year to June 2019.
It then dropped to an estimated 111,000 in the year to June 2020 when restrictions introduced during the pandemic limited travel and movement.
The total rose to 254,000 in the year to June 2021, followed by steep jumps to 634,000 in the year to June 2022 and 906,000 in the year to June 2023.
The latest available figure of 728,000 for the 12 months to June 2024 suggests levels are starting to decrease.
THE BIO
Born: Mukalla, Yemen, 1979
Education: UAE University, Al Ain
Family: Married with two daughters: Asayel, 7, and Sara, 6
Favourite piece of music: Horse Dance by Naseer Shamma
Favourite book: Science and geology
Favourite place to travel to: Washington DC
Best advice you’ve ever been given: If you have a dream, you have to believe it, then you will see it.
ICC Women's T20 World Cup Asia Qualifier 2025, Thailand
UAE fixtures
May 9, v Malaysia
May 10, v Qatar
May 13, v Malaysia
May 15, v Qatar
May 18 and 19, semi-finals
May 20, final
Libya's Gold
UN Panel of Experts found regime secretly sold a fifth of the country's gold reserves.
The panel’s 2017 report followed a trail to West Africa where large sums of cash and gold were hidden by Abdullah Al Senussi, Qaddafi’s former intelligence chief, in 2011.
Cases filled with cash that was said to amount to $560m in 100 dollar notes, that was kept by a group of Libyans in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.
A second stash was said to have been held in Accra, Ghana, inside boxes at the local offices of an international human rights organisation based in France.
How much do leading UAE’s UK curriculum schools charge for Year 6?
- Nord Anglia International School (Dubai) – Dh85,032
- Kings School Al Barsha (Dubai) – Dh71,905
- Brighton College Abu Dhabi - Dh68,560
- Jumeirah English Speaking School (Dubai) – Dh59,728
- Gems Wellington International School – Dubai Branch – Dh58,488
- The British School Al Khubairat (Abu Dhabi) - Dh54,170
- Dubai English Speaking School – Dh51,269
*Annual tuition fees covering the 2024/2025 academic year
More coverage from the Future Forum
Short-term let permits explained
Homeowners and tenants are allowed to list their properties for rental by registering through the Dubai Tourism website to obtain a permit.
Tenants also require a letter of no objection from their landlord before being allowed to list the property.
There is a cost of Dh1,590 before starting the process, with an additional licence fee of Dh300 per bedroom being rented in your home for the duration of the rental, which ranges from three months to a year.
Anyone hoping to list a property for rental must also provide a copy of their title deeds and Ejari, as well as their Emirates ID.
Ukraine
Capital: Kiev
Population: 44.13 million
Armed conflict in Donbass
Russia-backed fighters control territory
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – FINAL RECKONING
Director: Christopher McQuarrie
Starring: Tom Cruise, Hayley Atwell, Simon Pegg
Rating: 4/5
The specs
AT4 Ultimate, as tested
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Power: 420hp
Torque: 623Nm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)
On sale: Now
Specs
Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
Power: 218hp (Cooper and Aceman), 313hp (Countryman)
Torque: 330Nm (Cooper and Aceman), 494Nm (Countryman)
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh158,000 (Cooper), Dh168,000 (Aceman), Dh190,000 (Countryman)
Hidden killer
Sepsis arises when the body tries to fight an infection but damages its own tissue and organs in the process.
The World Health Organisation estimates it affects about 30 million people each year and that about six million die.
Of those about three million are newborns and 1.2 are young children.
Patients with septic shock must often have limbs amputated if clots in their limbs prevent blood flow, causing the limbs to die.
Campaigners say the condition is often diagnosed far too late by medical professionals and that many patients wait too long to seek treatment, confusing the symptoms with flu.