‘Top Gear’ host Clarkson sacked

LONDON: British broadcaster BBC has sacked Jeremy Clarkson, presenter of its hit auto-show ‘Top Gear’. The move follows BBC executive Ken MacQuarrie’s investigation into allegations that Clarkson hit the show’s producer Oisin Tymon while working on the show on March 4.
In a statement, Tony Hall, the BBC director-general, said: ‘It is with great regret that I have told Jeremy Clarkson today that the BBC will not be renewing his contract. It is not a decision I have taken lightly. I have done so only after a very careful consideration of the facts and after personally meeting both Jeremy and Oisin Tymon.’
Hall said that the BBC was publishing MacQuarrie’s report into the incident due to the ‘genuine’ public interest in the issue. He added: ‘I take no pleasure in doing so. I am only making them public so people can better understand the background.