Jeremy Clarkson's past Top Gear controversies

'Didier Dogba' dog name row (April 2014)

Clarkson faced accusations of "casual racism" on Twitter after he named his new black pet dog "Didier Dogba" after the former Chelsea footballer. One Twitter user wrote: "@jeremyclarkson its racist man! Casual racism! You should be ashamed of yourself ". Clarkson replied: "Why is it racist to name our amazingly brilliant dog after a footballer?"

Thai 'slope' controversy (March 2014)

The presenter again sparked controversy when he appeared to insult Thai people by using the allegedly racist term "slope". As a man walked towards himself and Richard Hammond on Thai bridge, he said "That is a proud moment - but there's a slope on it." Hammond replied: "You're right, it's definitely higher on that side."

The One Show rant (December 2011)

Some 31,000 people complained after Clarkson joked that public sector workers taking part in a 24-hour strike should be "executed in front of their families". The BBC was later forced to apologise.

Disabled parking row (August 2011)

Clarkson and fellow Top Gear presenter James May were criticised after they were shown on-screen parking their electric cars in a disabled parking bay. A year previously, he had offended people with disabilities by describing the Ferrari F430 Speciale as "a bit wrong ... that smiling front end ... it looked like a simpleton ... [it] should have been called the 430 Speciale Needs".

George Michael jibe (July 2011)

The singer branded Clarkson "homophobic" and "pig ugly" after the presenter made a joke at his expense. Clarkson said in a review of a Jaguar XKR-S: "It's very fast and very, very loud. And then in the corners it will get its tail out more readily than George Michael."

Mexico insults (February 2011)

The BBC was forced to apologise to the Mexican ambassador over remarks by Hammond, May and Clarkson on Top Gear but also defended the show's presenters, saying national stereotyping was part of British humour. In the episode, Hammond joked that Mexican cars reflected national characteristics, saying they were "just going to be lazy, feckless, flatulent, overweight, leaning against a fence asleep looking at a cactus with a blanket with a hole in the middle on as a coat". May described Mexican food as "like sick with cheese on it" and Clarkson predicted they would not get any complaints because "at the Mexican embassy, the ambassador is going to be sitting there with a remote control like this[ snores]. They won't complain, it's fine."

Gay slur (July 2010)

Clarkson allegedly made comments to "star in a reasonably priced car" Alastair Campbell about being "bummed" in scenes that did not make it on air. Campbell revealed on his blog: "I cannot remember how the subject of homosexuality came up, but I said at one point that he wasn’t very sound on gay rights … 'Oh yes I am,' he said, adding, to more laughter from the largely adoring (of him) crowd ‘I demand the right not to be bummed.’ I had the immediate thought that this was unlikely to be broadcast at 8pm on a Sunday, with Songs of Praise still ringing in some ears, but nonetheless chipped in that I suspected he was worried that he might like it. He seemed to enjoy that, and recalled his public school education, though without any detail."

'TV obsessed with hiring black Muslim lesbians' (October 2009)

Clarkson told Top Gear magazine that TV bosses were obsessed with having "black Muslim lesbians" on shows to balance white heterosexual men: "The problem is that television executives have got it into their heads that if one presenter on a show is a blond-haired, blue-eyed heterosexual boy, the other must be a black Muslim lesbian. Chalk and cheese, they reckon, works. But here we have Top Gear setting new records after six years using cheese and cheese. It confuses them."

Calls Gordon Brown "a one-eyed idiot' (February 2009)

Clarkson personally apologised after describing Gordon Brown as a "one-eyed Scottish idiot" when he compared Brown to Australian prime minister Kevin Rudd. "It's the first time I've ever seen a world leader [Rudd] admit we really are in deep shit," Clarkson was reported as saying. "He genuinely looked terrified. Poor man, he's actually seen the books. We have this one-eyed Scottish idiot who keeps telling us everything's fine and he's saved the world and we know he's lying, but he's smooth at telling us."

Lorry driver 'joke' (November 2008)

Clarkson, sparked a row when, while driving a lorry, he said to the other Top Gear presenters: "What matters to lorry drivers? Murdering prostitutes? Fuel economy?" He added: "This is a hard job [driving a lorry] and I'm not just saying this to win favour with lorry drivers: change gear; change gear; change gear; check your mirrors; murder a prostitute … " Media watchdog Ofcom cleared Clarkson, ruling that the comments were justified by the context in which they were made and did not breach its programming code.