The BBC has reported that Jeremy Clarkson has apologised to the Top Gear producer he assaulted and verbally abused in an incident which led to him being sacked from the BBC2 motoring show.
In March 2015, it emerged that the corporation had suspended Clarkson after reports of a ‘fracas’ with producer Oisin Tymon after a day of filming in north Yorkshire.
It was later revealed that Clarkson was sent into a rage because he could not order a steak at the hotel where they were staying. The Sun and Mirror both reported that the hotel’s chef had gone home by the time they arrived and the stars were offered cold meat platters. Both papers quoted a source who claimed Jeremy blamed Tymon for not arranging hot food and described the incident as a 'scuffle'. The hotel’s general manager then cooked the meal for the star, the source claimed.
At the time of the attack, Tymon stated that he didn’t want to press charges against Clarkson. However, six months after the incident, which left him a bloody lip, the producer launched action against the former Top Gear host and the BBC.
In November 2015, Lawyers for Clarkson and the BBC attended a behind-closed-doors hearing with Mr Tymon's legal team at a London employment tribunal. The original internal inquiry into the fracas, headed up by Ken MacQuarrie, found Mr Tymon was subject to an 'unprovoked physical and verbal attack'.
MacQuarrie added: "The verbal abuse was sustained over a longer period, both at the time of the physical attack and subsequently."
BBC director general, Tony Hall, said Clarkson had subjected an 'innocent party [to] a physical altercation accompanied by sustained and prolonged verbal abuse of an extreme nature'.
Following the fracas, Clarkson was suspended and later sacked by the BBC. But since his departure from Top Gear, Clarkson has signed a new deal with Amazon Prime to present a motoring show, while the BBC has commissioned a new series of Top Gear with a new team led by Chris Evans, and co-hosted by former Friends star Matt Le Blanc.
Clarkson’s apology comes after settling the £100,000 racial discrimination and injury claim.
"I would like to say sorry, once again, to Oisin Tymon for the incident and its regrettable aftermath," Clarkson said. "I want to reiterate that none of this was in any way his fault.
"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.
"I am pleased that this matter is now resolved. Oisin was always a creatively exciting part of Top Gear and I wish him every success with his future projects."
The BBC also reports that Tymon's lawyers said the case had been settled but did not give details of the settlement. But it understood to be in excess of £100,000, to which both Clarkson and the BBC have contributed.
