Top Gear's Clarkson rapped for calling a car 'gay'

Ofcom said there was no justification for the Top Gear presenter saying "a bit ginger beer" -Cockney rhyming slang for queer.

Discussing a Daihatsu Copen during an episode of the BBC show last year, he referred to it at first as "a bit gay" before adding: "It's a bit ginger beer."

Ofcom said use of the word "gay" was not necessarily offensive, citing the Oxford English Dictionary definition of the word as "foolish, stupid and occasionally inappropriate, disapproved of and lame".

But Ofcom added: "In this edition of Top Gear, the presenter's use of a Cockney rhyming phrase made clear he intended to give a particular meaning to use of the word gay . . . ie, not to restrict its meaning simply to foolish or stupid, but clearly linking the reference to homosexual people.

Scroll down for more...

A 'ginger beer?': The Daihatsu Copen got a rough ride from Jeremy Clarkson on Top Gear

"This, in Ofcom's opinion, meant that the use of the word became capable of giving offence. In the context, there was no justification for using the word in this way."

Ofcom said the complaint had been resolved because the BBC had already warned the Top Gear production team and producers not to repeat the offence.

The corporation's own investigation upheld complaints about Clarkson's use of the word "gay" during the episode screened in July last year.

Hotter summers are leading to a boom in sales of convertibles, according to figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders.

The trade group said registrations are running at over 100,000 a year - three times the number a decade ago.

In 1996, the figure stood at 30,000, only 1.5 per cent of total sales. The convertible sector now commands 4.3 per cent of the car market.