Gotta love Top Gear, even if you don't like cars.
Jeremy Clarkson joins burka debate
Jeremy Clarkson has provoked a flurry of complaints after telling Top Gear viewers he saw a woman wearing a G-string and stockings beneath her burka.
Clarkson's comments came after both France and Belgium announced earlier this month that they are introducing bans on veils Photo: BBC
The episode, which was broadcast on Sunday night and featured guest appearances from Hollywood stars Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz, was watched by more than six million people.
Clarkson, along with co-presenters Richard Hammond and James May, had been discussing how drivers are distracted by female pedestrians.
He said: “This is an important bit of news, I really want to bring this up. People imagine that the most dangerous time of the year to drive is November or perhaps February - dark nights, fog, ice.
“But we were talking about this the other day and we think the most dangerous time to drive a car is round about now. Sunny skies, light breezes, girls wearing short skirts, because the thing is, you can't not look. You can't physically not look."
Hammond then said: “You can physically not use your mobile phone and it's easy not to drive home when you've had 18 pints of lager. But when you're driving along and a girl walks past, you have to look.
"Actually, do you not think that here, there is actually a case for the burka? Because then the problem would go away.”
Clarkson replied: “No, no, no. Honestly, the burka doesn't work. I was in a cab in Piccadilly the other day when a woman in a full burka crossing the road in front of me tripped over the pavement, went head over heels and up it came, red g-string and stockings. I promise that happened. The taxi driver will back me up on that.”
By Monday morning, seven viewers had already contacted the BBC to complain. Several viewers posted messages criticising the comments on Twitter, including Lily Allen, the singer, who called his remarks “distasteful”.
[JD: Lily Allen? More like Dhimmi Allen! Ha ha ha.]
Another viewer wrote: “Clarkson is too old for mini skirt jokes - burka story obscene - horrid.”
Clarkson’s comments came after both France and Belgium announced earlier this month that they are introducing bans on veils.
Immigration Minister Damian Green has said a ban here would be “rather un-British” despite a declaration from fellow Tory Philip Hollobone that he would refuse to meet constituents wearing a veil.
It is not the first time Clarkson has made controversial comments. Last year he was condemned by the Royal National Institute of Blind People after he called Gordon Brown, calling him a “one-eyed Scottish idiot”.
The Muslim Women's Network UK last night criticised his comments about the burka.
Faeeza Vaid, coordinator at the organisation, said: “The debate surrounding the burka is a serious issue which shouldn't be publicly joked about. Rather than joking about it, we should be having serious dialogue.”
“But we were talking about this the other day and we think the most dangerous time to drive a car is round about now. Sunny skies, light breezes, girls wearing short skirts, because the thing is, you can't not look. You can't physically not look."
Hammond then said: “You can physically not use your mobile phone and it's easy not to drive home when you've had 18 pints of lager. But when you're driving along and a girl walks past, you have to look.
"Actually, do you not think that here, there is actually a case for the burka? Because then the problem would go away.”
Clarkson replied: “No, no, no. Honestly, the burka doesn't work. I was in a cab in Piccadilly the other day when a woman in a full burka crossing the road in front of me tripped over the pavement, went head over heels and up it came, red g-string and stockings. I promise that happened. The taxi driver will back me up on that.”
By Monday morning, seven viewers had already contacted the BBC to complain. Several viewers posted messages criticising the comments on Twitter, including Lily Allen, the singer, who called his remarks “distasteful”.
[JD: Lily Allen? More like Dhimmi Allen! Ha ha ha.]
Another viewer wrote: “Clarkson is too old for mini skirt jokes - burka story obscene - horrid.”
Clarkson’s comments came after both France and Belgium announced earlier this month that they are introducing bans on veils.
Immigration Minister Damian Green has said a ban here would be “rather un-British” despite a declaration from fellow Tory Philip Hollobone that he would refuse to meet constituents wearing a veil.
It is not the first time Clarkson has made controversial comments. Last year he was condemned by the Royal National Institute of Blind People after he called Gordon Brown, calling him a “one-eyed Scottish idiot”.
The Muslim Women's Network UK last night criticised his comments about the burka.
Faeeza Vaid, coordinator at the organisation, said: “The debate surrounding the burka is a serious issue which shouldn't be publicly joked about. Rather than joking about it, we should be having serious dialogue.”
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