The cast and crew of TV’s Top Gear have had to flee Argentina after they were pelted with stones by a crowd incensed that one of their vehicles had a number plate that appeared to refer to the Falklands conflict.
The crew, including presenters Jeremy Clarkson, James May and Richard Hammond were filming in Patagonia, southern Argentina, as part of a programme featuring a remote highway passing through Chile and Argentina.
May and Hammond were driving an old Lotus Esprit and a Mustang, but it was the A Porsche 928, with the number plate H982 FKL, driven by Clarkson, that caused controversy, after it was suggested that the plate referred to the war of 1982.
The BBC has denied any intended reference, saying the car was bought by a member of the production team and its plate was entirely coincidental.
Clarkson said the attack was “the most terrifying thing I’ve ever been involved in”, the Press Association reported.
He told the Sun the mob shouted “burn their cars” and tried to attack his crew with pickaxe handles.
He said: “I’ve been to Iraq and Afghanistan, but this was the most terrifying thing I’ve ever been involved in.
“There were hundreds of them. They were hurling rocks and bricks at our cars. This is not just some kind of jolly Top Gear jape – this was deadly serious.”
A group of war veterans protested outside the British crew’s hotel in Ushuaia and one local politician said they were escorted to the airport, reportedly flying out of the area three days early. Local press reported that one of the Top Gear team was injured, apparently an Argentinian hired to assist them.
A receptionist at Ushuaia’s five-star Arakur hotel, where the crew were staying, said police were called to clear their hotel lobby after it was invaded by angry war veterans. Martin Marcilla said: “They were very tense moments. The war veterans were furious and shouting insults. Police had to remove them. Luckily things didn’t get too out of hand.
“They left the hotel just before 7.30pm. It was all very sudden and unexpected. They left by a service door and in such a hurry that they even forgot a computer.”
All three cars were abandoned at the side of the road. “We’re leaving them here, we don’t want any more problems, set fire to them if you like, but we’re getting out of here,” a member of the crew said, according to local media.
Juan Manuel Romano, secretary of social development for Ushuaia in southern Tierra del Fuego province, said: “They have taken the decision to leave.”
After returning to the UK on Saturday morning, Clarkson sent out a series of tweets saying “for once” Top Gear had done nothing wrong.
“The number plate WAS a coincidence. When it was pointed out to us, we changed it.
“And these war veterans we upset. Mostly they were in their 20s. Do the maths.
“They threw us out for the political capital. Thousands chased crew to border. Someone could have been killed.
This was not a jolly jape that went awry. For once, we did nothing wrong.
— Jeremy Clarkson (@JeremyClarkson) October 4, 2014
The row follows follow a string of controversies to hit the long-running show. Clarkson was given a “final warning” by BBC bosses earlier this year after unbroadcast footage emerged in which he appeared to use the N-word, although he denied actually saying it.
Another edition of the programme was found to be in breach of Ofcom’s broadcasting code for the use of a racially offensive term during a two-part special filmed in Burma.
A story about Top Gear’s visit in the Patagonian daily newspaper, Diario Jornada, was headlined: “Top Gear is filming in Patagonia and there’s controversy.”
The paper said: “Even though the BBC authorities asked the popular presenter Jeremy Clarkson to behave himself during his time in Argentina, he chose to use the provocative number plate H982 FKL on his Porsche, in reference to 1982 Falklands (Malvinas).”
But the executive producer of Top Gear, Andy Wilman, said: “Top Gear production purchased three cars for a forthcoming programme; to suggest that this car was either chosen for its number plate, or that an alternative number plate was substituted for the original is completely untrue.”
Clarkson denied reports last month that he had been warned by the BBC not to misbehave while filming in Argentina.
Writing about his “final warning” in his Sun column in May, Clarkson said: “I’ve been told by the BBC that if I make one more offensive remark, anywhere, at any time, I will be sacked.
“Even the angel Gabriel would struggle to survive with that hanging over his head. It’s inevitable that one day, someone, somewhere will say that I’ve offended them, and that will be that.”
