Jeremy Clarkson appears to admit to calling Gordon Brown expletive during Top Gear filming

Jeremy Clarkson seems to have admitted to calling former British Prime Minister Gordon Brown an expletive during the filming of Top Gear in 2009.

The outspoken television presenter, 63, responded on X/Twitter to a post stating that: “In July 2009, [Jeremy Clarkson] was reported to have called then-British Prime Minister Gordon Brown ‘a silly c***’ during a warm-up while recording Top Gear.”

Clarkson replied: “Well he had sold all our gold reserves at rock bottom prices. Seemed a bit silly to me”.

A few months before the alleged incident, in February 2009, Clarkson issued an apology for calling Brown a “one-eyed Scottish idiot”.

Clarkson had been at a press conference in Australia when he made the comment about Brown’s blindness in one eye.

Speaking in Sydney, Clarkson compared Brown to the Australian Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, after Rudd had just addressed the country on the global financial crisis.

He said: “It’s the first time I’ve ever seen a world leader admit we really are in deep s***. He genuinely looked terrified. The poor man, he’s actually seen the books. [In the UK] we’ve got this one-eyed Scottish idiot, he keeps telling us everything’s fine and he’s saved the world, and we know he’s lying, but he’s smooth at telling us.”

Brown lost his sight in one eye when he was accidentally kicked in the face while playing rugby as a 16-year-old; he was playing for his school team against a side of former pupils. He suffered a detached retina in one eye and spent the next five years undergoing treatment to save the other eye.

When Clarkson’s comments were reported in Britain they drew a furious response from politicians and disabled charities.

Following the outcry, a statement of apology was issued by Clarkson amid the rising tide of criticism for the “offence” he had caused.

“In the heat of the moment, I made a remark about the Prime Minister’s personal appearance for which, upon reflection, I apologise,” he said.

The BBC added in a statement: “We note that Jeremy has issued an apology for the personal remarks he made about the Prime Minister.”

Clarkson has a long history of making controversial, politically incorrect comments. The Independent’s television critic Nick Hilton explores the presenter’s enduring appeal in a feature asking whether Clarkson is: “Hilarious and honest or boorish and bigoted?”

“He is a social conservative with strongly held views and a gift for articulating them, but he is also more pragmatic than his critics give him credit for,” writes Hilton. “Clarkson’s Farm, for example, has provided a loud, clear voice for Britain’s farmers who are often elided from political discourse.

“If it weren’t for his tendency towards a self-immolating form of nastiness – whether administered via fist or pen – there would be much to admire about Clarkson. But he has a lot of second chances in an industry where most people don’t even get a first attempt.”

Clarkson’s apparent admission comes the day the penultimate episode of The Grand Tour, titled Sand Job, was released on Prime Video.

In his three-star review for The Independent, Hilton called the series an “enjoyably” “blokey pantomime”.