Oisin Tymon also alleges personal injury in £100,000-plus claim over incident that resulted in presenter being dropped by BBC2 motoring show

This article is more than 4 years old

This article is more than 4 years old

The Top Gear producer verbally and physically attacked by Jeremy Clarkson is suing the BBC and the former presenter of the BBC2 motoring show for more than £100,000 for racial discrimination and personal injury.

Lawyers for Oisin Tymon and the BBC attended the Central London Employment Tribunal on Friday for a preliminary hearing about the legal action.



Clarkson, who in July signed up to launch a Top Gear rival on Amazon’s TV service along with former co-hosts James May and Richard Hammond, was not required to appear.

Top Gear script editor hits out at Jeremy Clarkson over 'smack in the chops' Read more

A tribunal official confirmed the hearing took place but would not provide any further details about the case.

Tymon’s lawyers, Slater & Gordon, declined to comment on the case.

Damages in employment tribunal cases are normally capped at about £80,000, but in cases of discrimination, successful complainants can succeed in securing claims of more than £100,000.



A spokesman for the BBC said: “We will be responding to this claim but will not be commenting further at this time.”

Tymon offically returned to work at the BBC in May, and the corporation confirmed that he is still an employee. However, it is understood that the producer has not worked since the incident with Clarkson.

TV presenter Piers Morgan weighed in on the news of the case with a tongue-in-cheek tweet of mock surprise at a Top Gear staffer not being inured to Clarkson’s behaviour given the many accusations of racism that have been levelled at him over the years.

Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) Long-time Top Gear producer outraged by racial insensitivity? I've read it all now. https://t.co/fJNxINfqua

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Clarkson’s fracas with Tymon, over the failure to be served a steak at the end of a day filming Top Gear in Yorkshire, ultimately resulted in Clarkson’s departure from the BBC.

A BBC investigation led by BBC Scotland boss Ken MacQuarrie found that Clarkson had subjected the 36-year-old Irishman to a 30-second physical attack after a sustained verbal tirade.

MacQuarrie concluded that Tymon was “subject to an unprovoked physical and verbal attack” by Clarkson, during which he was “struck, resulting in swelling and bleeding to his lip”.

Tony Hall, the director general of the BBC, said Clarkson had subjected an “innocent party [to] a physical altercation accompanied by sustained and prolonged verbal abuse of an extreme nature”.

Tony Hall on Jeremy Clarkson and Top Gear

Most cases do not get as far as as an employment tribunal hearing.

If the BBC and Tymon’s lawyers fail to settle the greivance, the next step will be a full employment tribunal, heard and adjudicated by three members, which would take place in the new year.

Amazon, which recently launched a major TV ad campaign starring Clarkson to promote its TV service, declined to comment on the case in which its new star signing is now embroiled.

The TV ad, which has been viewed more than 2.3m times on YouTube, sees Clarkson take a swipe at the BBC while promoting Amazon’s Fire TV Stick.

“Back in the spring, as you probably remember, I suddenly became unbusy,” he said, obliquely referring to his leaving the BBC on 25 March.

He goes on to demonstrate Amazon’s TV service, saying that it has “everything you could possibly want” before quickly swiping past the BBC iPlayer.

Jeremy Clarkson takes a swipe at the BBC in the Amazon Fire TV Stick advert

Clarkson, who has been replaced by TV and radio presenter Chris Evans as lead presenter on a new-look Top Gear, began filming the new Amazon motoring show in October.

Clarkson, whose sacking prompted co-hosts Richard Hammond and James May to also leave Top Gear, posted a picture on Twitter announcing the start of filming.

He wrote: “With a skeleton crew, filming for Amazon Prime’s new motoring programme has begun.”

The first series, of a three series deal with Amazon, is due to air next year.

Jeremy Clarkson (@JeremyClarkson) With a skeleton crew, filming for Amazon Prime's new motoring programme has begun. pic.twitter.com/8PaYvke5il

Legal experts believe that Tymon’s case being taken to tribunal, which means it would likely become public, is a move to embarrass the BBC and force a top-end settlement.

“A celebrity being named as an individual respondent can raise the stakes of employment litigation and increase a claimant’s bargaining position for a higher settlement due to the potential significant adverse media attention on the individual concerned,” said Richard Nicolle, partner at law firm Stewarts Law. “In the circumstances an employer may find the situation too embarrassing and prefer to settle.”

Nicolle said he saw similarities between the Clarkson/Tymon case and that of Eva Carneiro, Chelsea’s team doctor, who is suing the club over comments made by manager José Mourinho.

He said that in order to win the BBC would need to show it took “all reasonable steps” to stop Clarkson from “doing the discriminatory acts”.

“A difficulty for the BBC in this respect might be that they have continued to employ Clarkson who has proclivities for making controversial comments, some of which have been race-related,” he said.

Nicolle added that even if the BBC does manage to avoid liability Clarkson may still be personally liable for any pay out to Tymon.

“It is notable that discrimination awards are uncapped and so it is possible that such an award in these circumstances will not be an insignificant amount,” he said.

Nicolle pointed out that Clarkson, and by extension his new employer Amazon, isn’t going to want to see the legal action go to a full tribunal and run the risk of losing which would leave a “black mark” ahead of the debut ofhis new TV show.

