Talk Morgan Forums Community The Malvern Arms Clarkson suspended

Sad and all very stupid but totally agree

Its also the verbal abuse the producer received with a punch to the face - dismissal offence in today's world whatever the line of work

The BBC just didn't have any other option

So what if he was incompetent?

Do you get a carte blanche to assault someone because they are incompetent? Or continually verbally abuse them, until you snap and throw punches for half a minute?

What's with this blaming the victim mentality?

here is the account of what happened via the waiter

https://youtu.be/vmNg_QSW78k

Well, your post pointing out the alleged incompetence came after another poster thought it was PC gone mad to fire someone for verbal and physical abuse, pointing to the supposed incompetence as well.

So I ask again: Who cares if the victim was incompetent? No amount of incompetence makes it fine to abuse and assault someone, so bringing up the producer's competence is, in fact, trying to shift the blame. Why else bring it up?

Where I work if there is a physical fight of any description both parties are liable to be sacked. The view is that it takes two to cause an arguement and both sides are as guilty as each other.

That's an easy to follow rule. Rarely fair, though. In the real world, every day people are assaulted simply because the assaillant look at them as easy victims, or simply because they are there at the time. Luckily, the judicial system doesn't blame the victim "equally".

Yes, it takes two. At least one victim and at least one assailant.

To categorically divide the blame equally is like having someone in a car mow into a pedestrians on the sidewalk, and then claim that both are equally to blame.

Obviously, sometimes a pedestrian is to blame, if he, say, jumps out in front of vehicle, but to think that he always shares 50 percent of the blame is just stupid.

The findings of Ken MacQuarrie's investigation http://downloads.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/investigation-summary.pdf seem pretty unequivocal that this was not a "fight." It was an attack, verbal and physical, and "it is the case that Oisin Tymon offered no retaliation."

The BBC have no option but to sack him. It is a complete failure of "talent management" at the BBC, rather than a failing of the Top Gear production team or anything else. Clarkson should never have been allowed to boil over in his ranting to the point of a physical assault; the broadcaster had already backed itself into a corner by giving him a well publicised "final warning" so when he kicked off again, in whatever form, there was really no other course of action available.

I'm sure TG will limp on with other presenters. They need to be properly passionate about cars, have a decent pedigree in motoring journalism, and the personality (individually and as a group) to engage an audience. VBH? Jason Plato for the May-esque sensible engineering bits? Chris Evans' name is being bandied around a fair bit - not sure that would really work. Johnny Vaughan? Actually, given that Vaughan has done a chat show and could do the star-in-a-reasonably-priced-car section well enough, that could mean VBH and Plato doing the more serious driving stuff. Could work... Oh, and Butler-Henderson is married to the current series director of Top Gear. I'm sure he could put in a quiet word

It'll be interesting to see what happens next.

It was getting ready for a refresh or reboot anyway - nothing lasts for ever.

The TG present format has had a good long run.

JC JM and RH are all multi millionaires and will be in demand from ITV SKY etc.

Other BBC progs have lost or changed star presenters - Have I Got News For You, Film 2015, Strictly Dancing etc

Life goes on!

I can see a 4th Gear coming here

Chris Evans has already ruled himself out.



Sky has deeper pockets.

~iw