London - TV host Jeremy Clarkson has sparked outrage by apparently mocking the paedophile scandal gripping the BBC in the wake of revelations Jimmy Savile was a serial sex offender.
Bosses at the corporation were rocked last year when it emerged late radio and TV presenter Savile had molested hundreds of underage girls and boys during his 40-year career.
Several veteran entertainers with links to the BBC, including sports commentator Stuart Hall, have been arrested on sex abuse allegations in the fallout from the scandal, but Clarkson – who presents the network’s hit motoring show Top Gear– has risked a storm by apparently mocking the controversy.
In a post on his Twitter page, Clarkson wrote: “Can I just say that I’ve worked at the BBC for 24 years, and in all that time no one has ever tried to put his finger in my bottom.”
TYPICAL NONSENSE?
The comment has drawn criticism from campaign groups, with a spokesman for the National Association for People Abused in Childhood telling the Daily Star newspaper: “Jeremy Clarkson is well known for coming out with real nonsense like this. I don’t think he realises the seriousness of the issue he is making fun of.”
Several victims of the 83-year-old Hall – who last week admitted 14 offences involving 13 victims dating back to the late 1960s – claimed they were assaulted at the corporation’s Manchester studios.
Meanwhile, 73-year-old veteran British comic Jimmy Tarbuck has become the latest celebrity to be arrested in connection with a historical child sex abuse investigation.
Police released the former quiz show host on bail after questioning him over claims that a young boy was assaulted in the late 1970s, according to reports yesterday.
Sources: Cape Times, Orange News, Sapa-AFP