£100k for producer who was punched by Clarkson
Presenter and BBC split the sum – at huge cost to licence fee payers
THE BBC is understood to have paid out tens of thousands of pounds of licence fee payers’ money to settle a legal row after Jeremy Clarkson hit a Top Gear producer.
Oisin Tymon sued Clarkson and the Corporation for injury and racial discrimination after the presenter, 55, called him a ‘lazy Irish c***’ in a fight about a steak and punched him in the face.
Yesterday, Clarkson and the BBC tried to draw a line under the socalled ‘fracas’ by settling the case out of court. Both parties contributed to the payout to Mr Tymon, who still works for the broadcaster.
The exact sum and how it was split have not been disclosed, but they are understood to have paid him more than £100,000 between them. They will also have paid a considerable amount in legal fees.
Clarkson also issued a formal apology to Mr Tymon yesterday, saying he was sorry ‘for the incident and its regrettable aftermath’. He also apologised that Mr Tymon was abused on Twitter when Clark- son was dropped as a presenter after the incident and his co-hosts James May and Richard Hammond chose to follow him out, bringing an end to the popular show.
‘I want to reiterate that none of this was in any way his fault,’ he said. ‘I would also like to make it clear that the abuse he has suffered since the incident is unwarranted and I am sorry too that he has had to go through that ... Oisin was always a creatively exciting part of Top Gear and I wish him every success with his future projects.’
But Top Gear fans expressed anger that the BBC paid out so much money over a ‘split lip’. One viewer said: ‘New retirement plan. Find Jeremy Clarkson and annoy him enough to chin you! £100,000 for one punch!’ TV presenter and MailOnline columnist Piers Morgan added: ‘Has Oisin Tymon apologised for being a wet lettuce yet?’
Clarkson set upon Mr Tymon after a long day of filming last March when he returned to the North Yorkshire hotel they were staying in and found he could not get a steak because the kitchen had closed.
According to the BBC’s investigation into the incident, he verbally abused Mr Tymon for 20 minutes before physically attacking him for around 30 seconds.
The BBC has already lost a considerable amount of money as a result of the incident. Before the row, Top Gear earned the Corporation £50million a year in sales of programming rights, events and merchandise around the world.
The BBC is gearing up to resurrect Top Gear with DJ Chris Evans and Matt LeBlanc, who starred in US TV show Friends, as hosts.
Meanwhile Clarkson, May and Hammond have signed a £160million deal with Amazon to produce a new motoring show, expected to launch in the next few months.
Yesterday, Mr Tymon’s lawyer at the firm Slater and Gordon said the producer was ‘keen to put the matter behind him’. The BBC added: ‘Oisin is a valued member of the BBC who behaved with huge integrity in dealing with the very difficult circumstances last year – a situation in which he was completely blameless. We are pleased matters have now been resolved.’
Damages in employment tribunals are usually capped at around £80,000, but can be much higher if there is evidence of discrimination.