TV regulators Ofcom have dismissed a complaint from a trade union over Jeremy Clarkson's controversial rant on The One Show, in which he joked that striking public sector workers "should be shot".
UNISON wrote to Ofcom's chief executive Ed Richards over the highly-publicised debacle, calling the comments "extreme and wholly unjustified".
31,000 viewers complained to the BBC over the episode, which aired last November.
Clarkson's infamous rant on The One Show
Despite acknowledging the "potentially offensive" nature of Clarkson's remarks, Richards argued that the "light-hearted irony" used by presenter Alex Jones when introducing the segment should have prepared viewers for potential controversy.
Let's Dance host Jones had said sarcastically that the Top Gear pundit was a "guest with balanced, uncontroversial opinions who makes great efforts not to offend", with Richards saying that the "editorial content and the editorial nature of the programme as a whole would have prepared viewers for the type of comments Jeremy Clarkson would be likely to make".
He continued: "In Ofcom's view, viewers' expectations would also have been influenced by Jeremy Clarkson's well-established public persona. His often controversial (and, to some, offensive) views are widely publicised in both print and on television.
"Further, we considered that it would have been clear to most viewers that his comments were not an expression of serious held beliefs or views that should be literally interpreted."
Jones delivered a formal apology at the end of the episode in question.
Watch a news report on Clarkson's One Show appearance below:
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