Jeremy Clarkson has joined the debate on whether burkas should be permitted in Britain in his own inimitable style.
The outspoken presenter provoked a flurry of complaints after telling viewers of Top Gear on Sunday night that he had seen a Muslim woman wearing saucy underwear beneath her gown.
Clarkson had been discussing the best way to stop drivers being distracted by female pedestrians, along with co-presenters Richard Hammond and James May.
More than six million viewers had tuned in to watch the show, which featured guest appearances from Hollywood stars Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz.
In front of the studio audience, he said: ‘This is an important bit of news, I really want to bring this up. People imagine that the most dangerous time of the year to drive is November or perhaps February - dark nights, fog, ice.
‘But we were talking about this the other day and we think the most dangerous time to drive a car is round about now. Sunny skies, light breezes, girls wearing short skirts, because the thing is, you can’t not look. You can’t physically not look.’
Hammond interjected, saying: ‘You can physically not use your mobile phone and it’s easy not to drive home when you’ve had 18 pints of lager. But when you’re driving along and a girl walks past, you have to look. Actually, do you not think that here, there is actually a case for the burka? Because then the problem would go away.’
Clarkson then replied: ‘No, no, no. Honestly, the burka doesn’t work. I was in a cab in Piccadilly the other day when a woman in a full burka crossing the road in front of me tripped over the pavement, went head over heels and up it came, red g-string and stockings. I promise that happened. The taxi driver will back me up on that.’
Despite disbelief from his co-stars, Clarkson again insisted the incident took place.
By yesterday morning, seven viewers had already contacted the BBC to complain, while singer Lily Allen labelled the comment ‘distasteful’ on her Twitter site.
Another viewer wrote: ‘Clarkson is too old for mini skirt jokes - burka story obscene - horrid.’
The debate has intensified across Europe after both France and Belgium announced they are introducing bans on veils earlier this month, prompting accusations of discrimination against Muslims.
Spain is considering it and similar calls have emerged in Britain, although these have been ruled out by the Coalition government.
The ban in France will include women wearing niqabs, veils covering the head and mouth while leaving the eyes exposed and the head-to-toe burkas, which also cover the eyes with a mesh mask.
Immigration Minister Damian Green, resisted demands from Tory MP Philip Hollobone to ban the burka, which critics claim is a symbol of the oppression of women.
Mr Green said a ban would be ‘rather un-British’ and run contrary to the conventions of a ‘tolerant and mutually respectful society’. This is despite a YouGov survey which found that 67 per cent of voters wanted the wearing of full-face veils to be outlawed.
Clarkson, 50, is no stranger to controversy. In 2008, he famously mocked lorry drivers by saying they cared only about fuel prices and killing prostitutes - a reference to Suffolk Strangler Steven Wright and Yorkshire Ripper Peter Sutcliffe.
His comments drew more than 300 complaints.
Last year he was condemned by the Royal National Institute of Blind People and Scottish politicians after he made disparaging remarks about Gordon Brown, calling him a ‘one-eyed Scottish idiot’.
The Muslim Women’s Network UK last night criticised Top Gear after they joked about using the burka as a way of preventing drivers being distracted by female pedestrians.
Faeeza Vaid, co-ordinator at the organisation, said: ‘The debate surrounding the burka is a serious issue which shouldn’t be publicly joked about. Rather than joking about it, we should be having serious dialogue.’