But, again, he should get into trouble for this. Bet there's nobody at the BBC who dares say a word to him.

...I freely admit that I did laugh. At the same time I thought that what he said was unecessary and guaranteed to get him into trouble.

I also rate Clarkson and cherish every new season of Top Gear.

I laughed out loud at this when I saw this at the weekend. Yes, of course it's offensive, but it actually is a joke, presumably scripted and certainly delivered with deadpan comic timing, unlike other recent examples.

I wonder how many of the 517 complaints were from Jonathan Ross fans upset by Clarkson making jokes at Ross' expense later in the show?

Complaining is the new rock 'n roll.

but my eyebrows were raised by "the lads" propping up the piano with a "pile of porn" if I heard it correctly. Top Gear is not a must watch programme in our household but it is usually quite amusing when I do watch it. However, this did seem to be a step beyond especially at the time it goes out.

including Jimmy Carr's entire repetoire...it's nicked from the Viz letters page

"Dear Viz - can I just inform some of your more ignorant readers that not all lorry drivers are murderers. some of them are just rapists"

They then followed this up with a strip entitled 'Laurie Driver HGV: Licence to Kill"

that is soooooo funny. The man's a comic genius. He also has ace taste in music. and clothes.

Ah well, what's next for the media to moralise about?

... rather than being about killing prostitutes, as if suggesting it was OK to do that.

How many here can remember the anniversary of the murders of the prostitutes? Only those directly involved will, and I cannot see how the BBC can check every flippant remark ever made on a TV programme to see if it may offend some one, or if a particular comment is on the anniversary of a previous event.

If he'd made a gag about lorry drivers in Ipswich, or said 'killing prostitutes is fun' I'd agree he'd have a case to answer, but I just get the distinct impression the tabloid press are going through one of their many "moral outrage" phases.

Gotta say, that made me chuckle. I bet most lorry drivers are Clarkson fans and wouldn't give two hoots.

Think of all the 'catholic priest - therefore paedos' "jokes"/comments there have been on the BBC and there are many many hundreds of thousands of Catholic priests doing great selfless work that have to take that terrible stereotyping.

primarily because he makes a fortune writing books and newspaper columns in which he constantly bemoans the state of the country. Yet, he lives as a tax exile in the Channel Isles. Perhaps if he, and people like him paid their fair share, this land of ours might be a better place to live in.

I am constantly baffled by the number of people I encounter who believe this man should somehow be Prime Minister. We might just as well have John Gaunt or Richard Littlejohn as PM.

drive headlong into a wall...in a truck...at 56mph.

Oh they have.

He's an obnoxious self opinionated arrogant public school boy Tory c**t - apart from that he's OK

got sitting on their arses and killing prostirtutes to do but now they have to write letters to the Daily Mail and phone the BBC complaints line.

He says these things to get up your nose and hate him. Job done on both sides of the fence there. You'll be watching 'Top Gear' cos you like cars next

Viz magazine have been running the prostitute/truck drivers gag for nigh on 20 years now...encompasses their peak 1.2 million circulation too.

Where was the ire then from the Mail et al?

.... is this a brainless thread about a brainless joke that relies on a brainless recipient to get a laugh ?
I quite often watch Top Gear with my 12 year old daughter, but thankfully missed this one. I'd be hard put to explain this particular "joke" to her, and I don't think anyone here has shed any light on its value, unless you count "it made me laugh".

in every job in every company who makes a mistake. It was a tasteless remark but so what? No one died, the stock market didn't change, nations didn't go to war and life carried on. Everyone who thinks Jeremy should be fired for a bad taste joke should remember that next time they make some silly, off the cuff remark at work or swap dirty jokes at the pub. You've just deemed it a sacking offence so have the grace to walk and live up to your own values!

...I'm not a Daily Mail reader and I'm really not boiling over with rage, BUT... my problem with the joke is that not only is it not witty, it's NOT FUNNY and, worse still, Mark JF, unlike the kind of remarks you refer to, this was scripted, rehearsed and still NOT FUNNY.

...in the "to sack or not to sack" issue. I'd just like some analysis from someone about what makes it funny for them.

but its not worth discussing. Clarkson pushes it a bit but never really goes beyond ridiculing political correctness.

of sending to see the headmaster for a ruler over his knuckles or to stand in the corner with a dunce's hat on. Once administered it's over. Another offence and it's the slipper.

Better still put him on the Weakest Link and let Ann Robinson loose on him. That should scare any big naughty schoolboy.

If he'd said 'Some truck drivers are murderers' rather than 'All truck drivers...' then that would have been more factually correct and Lord Leith wouldn't have been able to raise a complaint due to the actual 'fact' part of the statement being partially true... but it would probably have been less funny I guess - I hate to de-construct jokes, let them out in the world and deny everything afterwards in my humble opinion - a world where we cant have freedom of speech is only a small step to a world being run by the chinese govt (hey, sue me!)

I'm one more for the it-was-funny-leave-him-alone squad. People are so eager to be offended these days, I don't understand the attraction.

I think you'll find that lorry-driving is a trade, David.

I managed to watch the whole thing with my son. He's 10. He didn't ask any questions about murdering prostitutes or porn after the event. I think he was too exhausted from laughing himself stupid and has re-watched the programme several times since last weekend. It's not so much a car programme as a new version of Crackerjack.

We also had a recent run-in with Clarkson and the gang at Top Gear Live. They were happily effing away until the point in the show when the house lights went up for the first time to reveal half the audience below the age of consent. To their credit, there was a seamless improvement in language.