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Jeremy Clarkson has vowed to sue the BBC if he is sacked over punching a producer.

The Top Gear star, 54, said he has been “put on silent” about the bust-up but a source said he’ll claim wrongful dismissal if axed.

Under-fire Clarkson is on the warpath – and as well as the Beeb, he has the person who compared him to Jimmy Savile in his sights.

The presenter’s fate will be decided in days when an independent report into claims he hit a producer is published.

(Image: BBC)

But speaking exclusively to the Sunday Mirror, Clarkson hinted that he won’t go down without a fight.

He confirmed he was ­intentionally refusing to comment over allegations he punched producer Oisin Tymon, 36, in a bust-up outside a North Yorkshire hotel.

Clarkson, 54, said: “I’ve been put on silence. There are very good reasons from my point of view why I simply can’t say a word.”

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But sources close to the star have gone further.

They say if a report compiled by BBC Scotland chief Ken MacQuarrie finds grounds for Clarkson to be sacked the presenter will take legal action.

One said: “There is no doubt that if Jeremy is fired it won’t be the end of it. Lawyers will be involved.”

And the insider said Clarkson is still fuming at the press briefing given by a high ranking BBC staffer that compared his situation to paedophile Jimmy Savile’s – and has vowed to find out who it was.

“Jeremy believes BBC executives launched a smear campaign against him ahead of the independent inquiry,” said the source. “He won’t let that go.”

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We can also reveal that:

Clarkson’s co-presenters James May and Richard Hammond may also take legal action too if Top Gear is axed.

His row with Tymon was sparked by frustration the presenter has over pressures of work.

The BBC are already filming a pilot motoring show called The Getaway.

May, 52, and Hammond, 45, have refused to carry on making the show without their embattled colleague. They could launch legal action if the show is axed claiming loss of earnings.

“It is very much an all for one and one for all attitude,” said a source. “Their future is very much tied up in Jeremy’s.

"Without him there is no Top Gear and effectively no work for them.

“This has impacted on them. Their new contracts are on hold too and they face a huge loss of earnings if the Top Gear Live shows are cancelled, plus spin-offs from books and videos.

"They will surely then turn to lawyers to protect their interests.”

(Image: REUTERS)

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Those close to the show claim Clarkson is steeling himself for the sack after a string of controversies which include accusations of making racist remarks on film.

One said: “No one knows how this is going to play out – we are hoping Top Gear will be back with it’s full team – that’s both Jeremy and Oisin – but it’s all up in the air and too tough to call.

“One thing is clear though – Jeremy won’t go quietly. He loves the BBC and doesn’t want to leave.”

While Clarkson’s fate hangs in the balance, the furore over Top Gear could be inflamed after it emerged the BBC have commissioned a pilot of a new motoring show called The Getaway. It will see contestants travel abroad to take part in driving challenges.

Despite claims the new concept is not a Top Gear ­replacement, the timing of its announcement has been questioned by Beeb sources.

An insider said: “Let’s say this is a very strange time for this show to be announced.”

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Fresh information about the “fracas” which put the future of the presenter and a show worth £50million a year to BBC coffers in doubt have also emerged this week.

Ironically, Clarkson’s fate could rest in the hand of his two co-presenters who were the only witnesses to an incident which

reportedly led to the Tymon needing hospital treatment for a split lip.

Sources said Clarkson is adamant he wasn’t drunk and didn’t bully Irishman Tymon. Instead he claims it was a professional disagreement born out of frustration and pressures of work which got out of hand.

“Everyone on Top Gear has been under increasing pressure because they are filming between shows and have an extended run of 12 shows without a break,” said an insider.

“The person most under pressure is Jeremy, because he lives and breathes the programme. But he has been under increasing strain this year because of the non-stop workload.

"Filming in the studio is a pressure cooker on Wednesdays. After a long, tiring day things bubbled over. There was no questioning of Oisin’s ­professionalism by Jeremy, just ­frustration at how the day’s filming had gone.”

Our source claimed Clarkson tried several times to apologise to Tymon and assure him his job was safe – but without success.

The source added: “There is a feeling in the crew that if they had got together this could have been sorted.

“It would have been reported, but everyone could have moved on. Jeremy has no issues with Oisin and would happily work with him again, and Oisin has said he just wants to get back to working on Top Gear.”

The petition calling for Clarkson to return to Top Gear reached more than a million signatures this week.

Matters were further complicated by the three being due in Norway, for a series of sell-out Top Gear Live events this weekend.

Clarkson’s fellow presenter James May told social media followers that he was “unemployed”, “retired” and bored.

He said: ‘I’m actually at the point where I’m considering washing my own car. That ­Albanian bloke will be furious. #Unemployed.”

If Clarkson has to make a fresh start, he could head to the US with girlfriend and events organiser Phillipa Sage, 45. Several networks are keen to hire the Top Gear crew for new programmes if they leave the BBC.

Although he has never publicly announced his split from wife Francie, close friends claimed they’d been an item for four years.

Both Clarkson’s lawyers Olswang and Tymon’s lawyers Slater Gordon tonight said they would not comment. The BBC also declined to comment.