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JEREMY CLARKSON’S SUN newspaper column, in which he said he “hated” the Duchess of Sussex, has become the most complained-about article to the UK’s press watchdog.
The Independent Press Standards Organisation (Ipso) said the piece, which was removed from The Sun’s website yesterday at Clarkson’s request, had received more than 17,500 complaints as of 9am this morning – rising to 20,800 by 5pm.
The reaction surpassed the total number of complaints the UK media regulator received in 2021 – 14,355.
The previous most complained-about article was published in the Scottish Sun in August 2020, about the Stonehaven train derailment, which received more than 16,860 complaints.
In the piece published on Friday, Clarkson wrote that he had dreamed of Markle being paraded through British towns and publicly shamed, adding that “everyone who’s my age thinks the same way”.
The article attracted criticism from high-profile figures, politicians, and his own daughter, Emily Clarkson.
A spokesman for the regulator said: “Ipso has received more than 20,800 complaints about an opinion piece on the Duchess and Duke of Sussex written by Jeremy Clarkson and published by The Sun on Friday 16 December, 2022.
“We will follow our usual processes to examine the complaints we have received. This will take longer than usual because of the volume of complaints.”
The spokesman added that the number of complaints would be subject to change.
I welcome Jeremy Clarkson's acknowledgement that he has caused hurt #notanapology- but an editorial process allowed his column to be printed unchallenged pic.twitter.com/pFhdSGn071
— Caroline Nokes MP (@carolinenokes) December 20, 2022
Ipso is a voluntary press-funded body not backed by the UK Government, which upholds journalistic standards.
It was launched in 2014 in the wake of the Leveson Inquiry, which concluded that the Press Complaints Commission (PCC) was not working.
Not all UK publishers are members of Ipso.
The most number of complaints received by the PCC, Ipso’s forerunner, was 25,000 – following a 2009 comment piece in The Daily Mail by Jan Moir about the death of Boyzone singer Stephen Gately.
However the PCC later ruled the piece had not been in breach of the Editorial Code, and the complaints were not upheld.
Earlier today, a group of 60 British MPs wrote to the editor of The Sun, Victoria Newton, to condemn the article “in the strongest terms”.
The cross-party group, led by Conservative MP Caroline Nokes, said the “hateful” article had contributed to an “unacceptable climate of hatred and violence”, and demanded that the publication take action against Clarkson.
“We are horrified at the recent article by Jeremy Clarkson in your publication. As parliamentarians of every persuasion, we condemn in the strongest terms the violent misogynistic language against the Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle,” the letter read.
“This sort of language has no place in our country, and it is unacceptable that it was allowed to be published in a mainstream newspaper. Ms Markle has faced multiple credible threats to her life, requiring the intervention of the Metropolitan Police.
“Hateful articles like the one written by Clarkson do not exist in a vacuum, and directly contribute to this unacceptable climate of hatred and violence.”
The letter continued: “We are deeply concerned about the role modelling being promoted to young men and boys, that they can verbally attack women without a consequence or that it is OK to use violent language to address a woman that you might disagree with.
“You will no doubt know how violence against women and girls has surged across Britain in recent years. We must do better. Enough is enough. We cannot allow this type of behaviour to go unchecked any longer.
“We welcome The Sun’s retraction of the article, we now demand action is taken against Mr Clarkson and an unreserved apology is issued to Ms Markle immediately.
“We further demand definitive action is taken to ensure no article like this is ever published again.”
The letter was signed by 64 MPs.
PA has approached The Sun for comment.
SNP MP John Nicolson also wrote to the ITV chief executive following the “grotesque comments”.
In his own letter, also shared on Twitter, Mr Nicolson said Clarkson’s article had “crossed the line” and demanded he be dropped by the broadcaster.
Following grotesque comments made about the First Minster and The Duchess of Sussex, I do not believe Jeremy Clarkson should be allowed back on our screens. I've written to the Chief Executive of @ITV. pic.twitter.com/oUnc3OvhKQ
— JOHN NICOLSON M.P. (@MrJohnNicolson) December 19, 2022
As well as being the host of Amazon’s The Grand Tour, alongside Richard Hammond and James May, Clarkson also presents Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? on ITV.
“Following grotesque comments made about the First Minister and the Duchess of Sussex, I do not believe Jeremy Clarkson should be allowed back on our screens. I’ve written to the chief executive of @ITV,” Nicolson wrote.
Writing on Twitter, Clarkson said he was “horrified to have caused so much hurt” following the backlash and that he would “be more careful in future”.
Oh dear. I’ve rather put my foot in it. In a column I wrote about Meghan, I made a clumsy reference to a scene in Game of Thrones and this has gone down badly with a great many people. I’m horrified to have caused so much hurt and I shall be more careful in future.
— Jeremy Clarkson (@JeremyClarkson) December 19, 2022
It follows the recent broadcast of Harry and Meghan’s explosive six-part Netflix documentary, in which the couple made allegations of mistreatment by the royal family.
The first three episodes saw Meghan accuse the British media of wanting to “destroy” her and claim “salacious” stories were “planted” in the press.
The duchess also took the publisher of The Mail on Sunday – Associated Newspapers Limited (ANL) – to court, after it published parts of a personal letter to her father, Thomas Markle, winning the case in 2021.
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He’s always been a knob but he went way beyond the line here. And the newspaper were just as bad to print it, and some people still can’t see that there is an agenda against Meghan Markle in the british media
@Brian Dunne: One article doesn’t mean an agenda…
@Tony Doyle: yeah because this is the first thing ever written about her.
Who cares ?
@Self Employed Anarchist: You don’t actually understand anarchy do you?
@Self Employed Anarchist: Megan Markle cares , no human being deserves this grotesque bile.
@Self Employed Anarchist: Maybe it was a bit too far to suggest whey he did with the whole faeces and naked parading down the streets of the UK… completely out line even… But I do agree with what Jordan Peterson had to say about her and to quite an extent a lot of what Piers Morgan did too. Narcissistic and playing the victim yep i think so, but Clarkson has really gone to the other extreme.
@Billy Davies: So she can be playing the victim, while being an actual victim? Jaysus, Peterson has ye lads tying yourselves in knots.
@Billy Davies: You get your cues from Jordan Peterson and Piers Morgan ? You are well and truly fücked.
@OnlyHereForTheComments: she is 100% playing the victim. Many of their stories of events have completely changed which Piers Morgan has pointed out in serveral video clips of their interview. I don’t choose to just listen to say Piers Morgans opinion only as he is very much on the offensive here. But so is she and Harry. You really can’t go comparing yourselves or aspiring to be Nelson Mandela when you’ve agreed a $100million+ deal with Netflix to release a tell all mug slinging docu-series. Definitely there’s merit to maybe some of what they are saying, but are doing so by playing the victim for the sake of a massive cash deal.
@Billy Davies: Have you a house built inside Piers rectum for convenience?
@Billy Davies: And therein lies the problem. They never, ever, compared themselves to Mandela – that’s just what the likes of Morgan have said to deliberately mislead. Where Mandela comes into it, is that they are launching a new documentary, called live to lead, which focuses on Mandela, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and others. It suits Morgan and his I’ll to suggest that the sussexes are comparing their own Netflix documentary, and they’re treatment, to that of Mandela but it’s simply a lie that you’ve swallowed whole.
@OnlyHereForTheComments: Nope, you might want to go and check that mate. Markle told a story of when she was on a flight and one of the attendants came over, took off their uniform hat and compared her to Mandela. The problem is, the airline she said this happened on, they do not have hats as part of their uniform. Now, it could have been a mis-remembering from Markle, or it just never happened. But that tale is in the documentary.
@Daftbit Jelly: Thanks for justifying your view as someone of shear ingnorance… I’ve merely stated what someone found to be as fact. When you dont like what you hear and have no meaningful reply or something to say in contrary, your only method of ‘defence’ is attack and to start hurling insults. Perhaps you should listen to Jordan Peterson a lot more. You’ve lost your argument.
@OnlyHereForTheComments: fair point, and he did suggest that alright… But I think their use of Mandela is more of an effort to take the moral high ground by embracing someone like him and bringing him into the fore as a means to defend their stance. ‘If this is the sort of person we look up to and embrace then surely we cant be the ones in the wrong’ thats my take from it anyways.
@Billy Davies: Justifying what to whom Billy? Defense of what ? I have listened to Jordan Peterson hence my low opinion of you. Could you try to be a bit more coherent it would be appreciated. What argument have I lost? I thought I was just slagging you for being a ridiculous person.
@Billy Davies: Your take or your redistribution of the views of a couple of jaded old bigots?
@Alan Wright: Nope, you might want to go and check that mate, since the flight attendant “thanked her for her sacrifice”. It was a cast member of The Lion King that compared their own happiness to that which they experienced when Mandela was freed. Again, deliberate muddying of the waters by people with an unfathomable hatred for someone they don’t know. Facts are facts, neither Meghan not Harry ever compared themselves to Mandela. Someone who did actually compare themselves to Mandela however, is Piers Morgan: “Speaking before the launch of his new show, he said: “I feel like Nelson Mandela when he came out of prison. It’s like the long walk to free speech freedom.””
@Billy Davies: To quote your spanner of a mentor Billy “Clean your room”.
@Self Employed Anarchist: an anarchist following the establishment media and moreover, being a contributor?? Lol.
@Billy Davies: That would be sheer Billy. Sorry I am a pedant. Hurling no . I think tossing would be the appropriate word. Again the pedant. No attack Billy just raising public awareness.
Perfectly matched sccum, Clarkson and the sun
@David Burns: and the royals and musk and Kardashians. Would that they could all relocate to a planet where the war against intelligence has been won. The worst part of all this is you can’t get away from these parasites. Endless coverage.
@David Burns: could not agree more. This article thinks he is a cut above everybody else. He assaulted his producer on the BBC when he did not have a steak dinner for him after a program. He should be kicked off Who wants to be a millionaire now. Not that I look at it, I think he is the pits when it comes to broadcasting.
The absence of any kind of statement from the Palace speaks volumes. Whatever the argument is between H&M and the rest of RF this is a time they should put out some kind of statement after all she is the Kings daughter in law the mother of his grandchildren etc, would there be silence if it was Kate hesaid this about, even Prince Williams office had something to say when lady hussey made racist remarks to Ngozi Fulani. Makes you wonder
@Sue OB: they don’t make statements on matters like this. If they did it would be never ending.
Me, I hope the whole institution collapses and brings Harry and Meg down with them.
There are some nasty truths about Charles that may one day come out. Male footmen beware.
@Tipper Irie: They made statements a couple of weeks ago over the lady in waiting’s comments.
@Sue OB: this might offer some explanation for the lack of statements https://www.newsweek.com/queen-camilla-lunch-meghan-markle-critic-jeremy-clarkson-explained-1768050
I wouldnt be too keen on Markle myself
@Aidy McBride: That’s not the point is it, it’s the normalisation of this sort of hatred by a high-profile public figure and the sort of example it sets.
@Aidy McBride: I’d say she is gutted. Oh no Aidy isn’t keen. She will be pleading for your approbation in no time. Either that or she won’t know you exist . But don’t let it get you down lots of people don’t know you exist. So there is that.
His morals must be fairly low if he writes for The Sc#m
Don’t buy the sun. Ynwa
@len len: The Sun should be boycotted. It’s only rag of a paper. The fact that they employed Clarkson in the first place speaks volumes.
I wonder if Clarkson realises how high in the s*** he is?
All he seems to have noticed is that he doesn’t personally find someone else’s wife attractive and this is something he finds hateful and shameful. Obviously can see better than he can think. I’ve worked with many sound men and never once has it occurred to me that it’s possible to make serious money by dissing someone’s appearance in public on the grounds that they aren’t my type. He should grow up.
@John Fagan: He is too thick to realise he is in the 5h1t .Gob5hits like him have nothing between their ears.
have your say