Top Gear is in hot water again today as papers in Argentina claim the VIN plate of a minicab once ridden in by one of the presenters contained the letter J and the number 6 in what local officials are calling a clear reference to the British occupation of Quilmes in eastern Argentina in June 1806.

‘There is no doubt that in 1994 after a friend’s birthday party, Jeremy Clarkson deliberately chose to ride in a Ford Sierra taxi knowing that under the bonnet was a chassis number containing a clear reference to the first British invasion of the Rio de la Planta almost exactly 208 years ago,’ said regional councillor Guillermo Loco.

‘Even the choice of car was deliberate,’ he continued. ‘If you rearrange the letters of ‘Sierra’ you can spell ‘Aires’, as in Buenos Aires which the British went on to capture on 27 June 1806, just two days after occupying Quilmes. These people must think we are stupid if we can’t spot such an obvious reference to British efforts to capture Spanish colonial territories during the Napoleonic Wars of the early 19th century.’

‘Furthermore, Mr Clarkson says he is from Doncaster,’ Senor Loco added. ‘It is absolutely clear that he chose to be born there, knowing that if you rearrange the name of this town you get Don Rafael de Sobremonte y Núñez del Castillo, 3rd Marquis of Sobremonte. If this isn’t an inflammatory reference to the Viceroy of the Rio de la Planta and his failure to repel the British forces in June 1806 which led him to flee Buenos Aries for Cordoba and then Montevideo before being deposed from his post in 1807 I don’t know what is. I mean, you only have to rearrange most of the letters and add some new ones. It’s blatant.’

Historical consultant: Joel Taylor, Professor of Rock.