Argentinian check-in agent allegedly told former Top Gear co-presenters they could not board in revenge for 2014 numberplate dispute

Jeremy Clarkson and his former Top Gear co-presenters were prevented from boarding a flight by an airport worker as an act of revenge for the Argentinian numberplate row in 2014, it has been claimed.

Clarkson, James May and Richard Hammond had been due to take a British Airways flight from Stuttgart to Heathrow after filming for their new show, The Grand Tour, when check-in agent Manuel Pereira stopped them boarding, the Sun reported. After being told by a bodyguard that the trio would not be allowed to board, Clarkson said “this little bald guy” had told them: “I’m from Argentina so fuck you.”

In October 2014 the then cast and crew of the BBC’s Top Gear had to flee Argentina after being pelted with stones by a crowd incensed that one of their vehicles had a numberplate that appeared to refer to the Falklands conflict.

Jeremy Clarkson row: airport disputes 'Argentinian' claim Read more

May and Hammond were driving an old Lotus Esprit and a Mustang in Patagonia, southern Argentina, but it was the Porsche 928 with the plate H982 FKL, driven by Clarkson, that caused controversy, after it was suggested that it referred to the war of 1982. The BBC said the numberplate was entirely coincidental.

Clarkson said at the time that the attack was “the most terrifying thing I’ve ever been involved in”.

The presenter accused Pereira of lying to colleagues about the trio being too drunk to fly to prevent them boarding. “He’s a stupid, bitter and twisted little man,” Clarkson told the Sun. He added: “This ignorant little worm made us miss our plane and he will pay for it. The police said it was a hate crime and he would be arrested.”

The controversy happens to coincide with the debut of The Grand Tour on Amazon Prime on Friday.

Clarkson was dropped by the BBC in March 2015 after an “unprovoked physical and verbal attack” that left a colleague bleeding and seeking hospital treatment. The BBC director general, Tony Hall, said he had taken the decision to end Clarkson’s BBC career “with great regret”, 16 days after the presenter was suspended following the “fracas” with a member of the Top Gear production team, but said Clarkson had “crossed a line”.

May and Hammond decided to follow Clarkson out the door and were picked up by Amazon for a show that closely resembles Top Gear.

The BBC broadcast a new series of Top Gear earlier this year presented by Chris Evans and actor Matt LeBlanc. However, Evans quit in July after just one series amid falling ratings, unrelenting newspaper criticism and a breakdown of his relationship with LeBlanc.

The audience for the Sunday night show more than halved since Evans took over in May, with the final episode watched by just 1.9m viewers, down from 4.3m for the opening show.