Londoners Magazine

In a scandal that has shocked the several people who didn’t see it coming, Top Gear presenter Jeremy Clarkson is facing calls for his dismissal after boasting of unbelievable speeding on public London roads.

During an interview with a Daily Mail columnist, Mr Clarkson claimed he had reached 186 mph in the Limehouse Link tunnel that runs from Central London to the Docklands. He was speaking at the Hay Festival, a literary fair in Powys, Wales. Why Jeremy Clarkson was ever invited to a literary fair is still being investigated by top scientists, and possibly Poirot.

Mary Williams, chief executive of Brake, a road safety charity said: “Jeremy Clarkson is extremely offensive and irresponsible. His comments are very upsetting to loved ones who have suffered a bereavement through a road crash because of a speeding driver. He is the most appalling role model for our next generation of drivers. The BBC should sack him – he is totally out of control.”

Clarkson argues that his views on speeding are his own, and that he does not have the power to influence others. “I don’t have any influence over what people do, I really don’t,” he said in the same interview. “It makes no difference what I say. Top Gear is just fluff. It’s just entertainment – people don’t listen to me.”

A fair point, although Clarkson may not be aware of the Downing Street petition to make him Prime Minister, which currently has around 50,000 signatures. Or this other one. Or this rather snazzy Bebo page.