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 The fate of Clarkson, 54, had been the subject of feverish
speculation in Britain and beyond since he was suspended on
March 10 following what the publicly funded broadcaster
initially described as "a fracas".
Releasing more details on Wednesday, the BBC said Clarkson had
struck producer Oisin Tymon, resulting in swelling and bleeding
to his lip, and also subjected him to "prolonged verbal abuse of
an extreme nature". Tymon later went to hospital.
"It is with great regret that I have told Jeremy Clarkson today
that the BBC will not be renewing his contract," Tony Hall, the
BBC's director-general, said in a statement.
"For me a line has been crossed. There cannot be one rule for
one and one rule for another dictated either by rank, or public
relations and commercial considerations," said Hall.
Top Gear, which is aired in more than 200 countries, is one of
the BBC's biggest money spinners with sales worth some 50
million pounds ($74.4 million) a year for its commercial arm.
Those Clarkson has offended over the years include environmental
groups, mental health and disability charities, cyclists, truck
drivers, Indians, Germans, Mexicans and Argentinians. Many
supporters see him as victim of a "politically correct" culture
too eager to take offense.
Police in the northern English county of North Yorkshire, where
the incident took place, said they had asked the BBC for its
detailed findings. Police would then assess the information and
take action "where necessary", a statement said.
Clarkson could not immediately be reached for comment on his
dismissal.
"The BBC must now look to renew Top Gear for 2016. This will be
a big challenge and there is no point in pretending otherwise,"
said Hall.
Speculation has already appeared in British media that Clarkson
could be snapped up by a rival broadcaster or by an Internet
television network such as Netflix.
Clarkson has 4.8 million followers on Twitter and after his
suspension well over a million people in Britain and around the
world signed an online petition asking for him to be reinstated.
"VERBAL ABUSE"
Clarkson's fans love his humor and relish in commenting on a
range of subjects in deliberately provocative terms, but his
many detractors see him as a boorish macho man posing as
anti-establishment rebel despite his wealth and connections.
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Prime Minister David Cameron, who has socialized with Clarkson
during weekends in the countryside and counts him as a friend,
commented after the suspension that "it's a great program and he's a
great talent".
Before the attack on Tymon, Clarkson had already received a final
disciplinary warning from the BBC over accusations last year that he
had used racist language while filming the show.
Last October the show sparked a diplomatic incident when a Top Gear
crew had to flee Argentina after driving a Porsche with the
registration number H982 FKL - an apparent reference to the 1982
Falklands War between Britain and Argentina.
Facing intense scrutiny over how it would handle the Tymon incident,
the BBC sought to put the focus back on Clarkson's own actions by
giving details of what had happened.
It said the incident took place on a hotel patio in northern England
where the Top Gear team had arrived to film on location. Tymon had
been subjected to an unprovoked physical attack that lasted about 30
seconds, while verbal abuse went on for longer.
"The verbal abuse ... contained the strongest expletives and threats
to sack him (Tymon). The abuse was at such volume as to be heard in
the dining room, and the shouting was audible in a hotel bedroom,"
the statement said.
It has been widely reported by the British media, though not
confirmed by any of the parties, that Clarkson had got angry because
he wanted a hot dinner and none was available at the hotel late in
the evening.
($1 = 0.6721 pounds)
(Additional reporting by Paul Sandle, Michael Holden, Stephen
Addison and Li-mei Hoang; editing by Ralph Boulton)
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