'Sack Clarkson' call over lorry driver comments

A Labour MP called today for the BBC to sack Top Gear presenter Jeremy Clarkson over remarks he made about prostitutes and lorry drivers.

Chris Mole said the 48-year-old's comments on the BBC2 show "must be a dismissible offence".

Five vice girls from Mr Mole's Ipswich constituency were murdered in 2006.

Steve Wright, 50, who once worked as a lorry driver, is serving a whole life jail term for killing the women.

As he completed a lorry-driving task on the show, Clarkson said: "This is a hard job and I'm not just saying that to win favour with lorry drivers - it's a hard job: Change gear, change gear, change gear, check mirror, murder a prostitute, change gear, change gear, murder. That's a lot of effort in a day."

Truck driver Peter Sutcliffe, the Yorkshire Ripper, also killed prostitutes.

Mr Mole said he had sent a "strongly worded" letter to BBC Director-General Mark Thompson.

"The murders in my constituency in 2006 were horrific and the community has spent a lot of time pulling together to respond constructively to such dreadful events," Mr Mole wrote.

"For Mr Clarkson to make light of murder in any circumstance must be a dismissible offence.

"To do so with complete disregard for the families of the murdered women should make this a matter on which I would expect you to take immediate action."

Will the Clarkson outrage reach the same levels as it did with Russell Brand and Jonathan Ross?