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Damon Albarn apologises to Argentina for 'f**king a**hole' Jeremy Clarkson following the continuation of Top Gear 'plategate'

After removing the heavy burden of reparation from his British chest, the Brit Pop icon continued his Everyday Robots set in Buenos Aires

Jenn Selby
Thursday 09 October 2014 21:35 BST
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Adele wishes she had not teamed up with Blur idol Damon Albarn
Adele wishes she had not teamed up with Blur idol Damon Albarn

Damon Albarn took the weighty responsibility of a nation on his shoulders when he apologised to Argentina, on behalf of the UK, for the existence of Jeremy Clarkson.

The Blur frontman told his audience mid-set at the Teatro Gran Rex in Buenos Aires that the presenter had been a "f**king a**hole" by driving a Porsche through the country with the license plate 'H982 FKL' – a reference, locals perceived, to the Falkland’s War in 1982.

"I want to really apologise for the behaviour of a guy called Jeremy Clarkson who does a programme called Top Gear," Albarn said, before raising his middle finger and adding, "He’s a f***ing a***hole."

After removing the heavy burden of reparation from his British chest, the Brit Pop icon continued his Everyday Robots set without further interruption.

His words came after an even more offensive registration set was found hidden in the boot of the vehicle Clarkson had been driving.

Police in Argentina discovered a pair of plates spelling 'BE11 END' inside the Porsche, which was abandoned near the Chilean border by the Top Gear team as they fled the country in fear of being stoned to death.

According to a "local official" quoted by The Mirror, the Argentines are no less riled by the second set, and perceive it as another pre-planned slight by the show’s producers.

"We know bellend doesn’t mean the end of the bell and is a word used instead to describe the head of the penis which is often employed as an insult in England," they were quoted as saying.

"We regard it as another insult to the people of Argentina.

"We’re sure the Top Gear team were planning another provocation with the number plate in the same way they provoked us with the one referencing the Falklands War."

A spokesperson for Top Gear has since confirmed to The Mirror that the two additional ‘BE11 END’ plates, one white and one yellow, were indeed in the car, but said that they were not used in any part of the filming for the BBC2 series.

"It was originally intended to be in the programme's final scene, a game of car football, but that ending has changed," they added.

The term 'bellend' is a popular one between the Top Gear presenters.

In May, Clarkson’s co-star James May described his colleague as a "monumental bellend" on Twitter "but not a racist" following the emergence of footage that appeared to show Clarkson reciting a politically incorrect nursery rhyme.

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