The Argentinian ambassador to the UK has demanded a public apology from the BBC over Jeremy Clarkson’s “provocative behaviour” and “offensive remarks” after the presenter was forced to abandon the filming of a Top Gear special in the country.

Alicia Castro met with the BBC’s director of television Danny Cohen in London on Monday to deliver a formal complaint about Clarkson, who drove around Argentina in a Porsche with the registration number H982 FLK, which some people suggested was a reference to the 1982 Falklands war.

Programme-makers have insisted the apparent reference was entirely coincidental.

The ambassador said Clarkson had made “serious accusations” against the government of Tierra del Fuego, a province off the southern tip of Argentina, in subsequent newspaper columns in which he said the cast and crew of the BBC2 programme had “walked into a trap” and described it as a “mafia state”.

In a statement, the Argentinian embassy in London said the ambassador “deeply regretted Jeremy Clarkson’s entirely false accusations of alleged resentment against British citizens in Argentina”.

It said Argentina was home to more than 250,000 British descendants, the largest such community in Latin America.

Clarkson and the rest of the cast and crew of Top Gear were forced to flee Argentina earlier this month after they were pelted with stones by a crowd following controversy over the presenter’s number plate.

Clarkson said the attack was “the most terrifying thing I’ve ever been involved in” and told how the mob had shouted “burn their cars” and tried to attack his crew with pickaxe handles.

The executive producer of Top Gear, Andy Wilman, denied any intentional reference to the Falklands conflict “Top Gear production purchased three cars for a forthcoming programme; to suggest that this car was either chosen for its number plate, or that an alternative number plate was substituted for the original is completely untrue,” he said.

The Argentinian ambassador flagged up the “excellent degree of co-operation” with the BBC in various other ongoing projects in Argentina and “stressed her desire for this to remain the case”.

In a statement, the Argentinian embassy in London said:

“The Argentine ambassador deeply regretted Jeremy Clarkson’s entirely false accusations of alleged resentment against British citizens in Argentina. Castro recalled that our country is home to more than 250,000 British descendants, the largest such community in Latin America, including 70,000 of Welsh origin, whose settlement in Patagonia will mark its 150th anniversary in 2015.

“Ambassador Castro noted the excellent degree of cooperation various ongoing BBC projects continue to enjoy in Argentina, stressing her desire for this to remain the case.

“Finally, the ambassador showed Mr Cohen a great number of letters of support received by many British citizens, including MPs, journalists and other personalities, condemning Clarkson’s provocative behaviour. The embassy of Argentina awaits a proper response from the BBC.”

A BBC spokeswoman said: “The BBC has received a complaint and will apply its usual processes.”

Clarkson denied reports last month that he had been warned by the BBC not to misbehave while filming in Argentina following a string of controversies involving the presenter and the long-running motoring series, BBC2’s most popular show with around 6 million viewers a week.

Writing about his “final warning” in his Sun column in May, Clarkson said: “I’ve been told by the BBC that if I make one more offensive remark, anywhere, at any time, I will be sacked. Even the angel Gabriel would struggle to survive with that hanging over his head. It’s inevitable that one day, someone, somewhere will say that I’ve offended them, and that will be that.”

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