Top Race Gear

As every petrolhead knows, Jeremy Clarkson is not too proud to spout drivel and ignorance in the name of entertainment: FACT! It's as if a man with half a brain and a large mouth has been given a huge salary and unlimited airtime; and indeed, that's exactly what it is.

Whilst fiddling with the wonderful Play it again, Sam facility of the BBCi player, I stumbled, nay fell into the chasm of un-PC wallpaper that goes under the name of Top Gear.

Now, I like the theme tune - Jessica by the Allman Brothers - but I tend to view Clarkson as a slightly upmarket version of Richard Littlejohn. Surprisingly, he seems very popular in Poland, which, perhaps partly explains some of the driving I witnessed there. However, my interest in cars extends only to the colour and whether it has four wheels, an engine and enough storage space on the mp3 player for the complete Beatles collection.

In fact, I prefer the train or bus as they don't tend to breathalyse you as much. But I digress....

If anyone can bear to see JC waxing manically about the latest Ferrari, there's a clip here (if you have BBCi player and live in the UK, or use proxy), which is available for about a week.

Anyway, forward to about 23 minutes in and correct me if I'm hearing things, but does the boy Jeremy make a reference to wops, albeit as an attempted funny. He appears to be talking about the lack of an audio player and refers to the sound of 'Italian mechanical engineering, or be-wop'.

Clarkson has been in trouble before. His reference to one car model as being 'gay' (or agreeing with an audience member) attracted a host of complaints.

The alleged comment comes days after a Tory candidate, Alun Cairns was forced to withdraw after using the phrase 'greasy wops' about the Italian football team on a radio phone-in.

Then we have the case of Boris 'picaninnies' Johnson's Deputy Chief of Staff, James McGrath. McGrath -himself an Australian migrant - as reported in today's Mirror:

• A top aide to Boris Johnson quit last night after sparking fury by saying black people could "go home" if they did not like having a Tory mayor of London.

  James McGrath, 34, his deputy chief of staff, said he would accept an "exodus" of Caribbean migrants, adding: "Well, let them go if they don't like it here."

I'm following doctor's orders in not reading the Daily Mail much; I shudder to think what I may find there.