A group of cross-party MPs have called for “action” to be taken against British television presenter Jeremy Clarkson for his recent diatribe against Meghan Markle, UK media reported.
The Conservative, Labour, Liberal Democrats, Green and SNP politicians penned a letter to the editor of the newspaper in which Clarkson had railed against the Duchess of Sussex, claiming that such invective fueled an “unacceptable climate of hatred and violence”. Co-ordinated by the Tory chairwoman of the Women and Equalities Select Committee, Caroline Nokes, it was also signed by the Conservative chairwoman of the Treasury Select Committee, Harriett Baldwin, Labour MP for Camberwell and Peckham, Harriet Harman, and Caroline Lucas of the Green party.
The MPs emphasized that they condemned "in the strongest possible terms the violent misogynist language" used by the television presenter and game show host.
"This sort of language has no place in our country and it is unacceptable it was allowed to be published in a mainstream newspaper. We welcome the Sun’s retraction of the article and we now demand action is taken against Mr Clarkson and an unreserved apology made to Ms Markle immediately,” the letter stated.
The day after Netflix released the final three episodes of its two-part 'Harry & Meghan' documentary, on 16 December, Clarkson wrote in his column for the British tabloid that he “feels rather sorry” for Prince Harry, whom he called a “ginger glove puppet”, but said his feelings about Meghan Markle were “a different story”.
“I hate her... I hate her on a cellular level,” wrote Clarkson in the column, since removed.
In a reference ostensibly to a scene in popular drama 'Game of Thrones', the broadcaster wrote that he was “unable to sleep” because of “grinding my teeth and dreaming of the day she is made to parade naked through the streets of every town in Britain while the crowds chant, ‘Shame!’ and throw lumps of excrement at her”.
He added that, “everyone who’s my age thinks the same way”.
Twitter screenshot featuring excerpt from column by Jeremy Clarkson.
© Photo : Twitter
After the backlash the remarks generated, Clarkson tweeted on 19 December he was "horrified" after "causing so much hurt", and admitted, "Oh dear. I've rather put my foot in it."
He also vowed he would be "more careful in future."
Twitter screenshot of account belonging to Jeremy Clarkson.
© Photo : Twitter
Nokes went on Twitter to point out that Clarkson's tweet was “not an apology” and said: “I welcome Jeremy Clarkson’s acknowledgement that he has caused hurt … but an editorial process allowed his column to be printed unchallenged.”
The scandal erupted as part of the fall-out from the Netflix tell-all docu-series, where Prince Harry referred to what he described as a “terrifying” interaction over his and Markle’s decision to step back as senior royals in 2020. In a separate episode of the documentary, the Duke of Sussex is seen claiming that there is “a huge level of unconscious bias” in the royal family, who are ostensibly “part of the problem” regarding racism in Britain.