Controversial remarks by the Top Gear presenters that Mexican people were "lazy", "feckless" and "flatulent" will be edited out when the show is broadcast in the US next week.

The offending comments, which prompted a BBC apology to the Mexican ambassador to the UK last week, will not feature when the Top Gear episode in question is broadcast on the BBC America cable channel on Monday.

There are estimated to be about 30 million people of Mexican origin living in the US, although the BBC would not be drawn on whether this had influenced the decision to edit the controversial comments out of the show. "Top Gear episodes are routinely edited for international transmission, both to fit broadcasters' time slots and for rights reasons," the corporation said in a statement.

In the episode, broadcast on BBC2 on Sunday 30 January, presenter Richard Hammond joked that Mexican cars reflected national characteristics, adding they were "just going to be lazy, feckless, flatulent, overweight, leaning against a fence asleep looking at a cactus with a blanket with a hole in the middle on as a coat".

Fellow presenter James May described Mexican food as "like sick with cheese on it" and Jeremy Clarkson predicted they would not get any complaints about the show because "at the Mexican embassy, the ambassador is going to be sitting there with a remote control like this [snores]. They won't complain, it's fine".

However, the Mexican ambassador, Eduardo Medina-Mora Icaza, did complain, writing to the BBC to condemn what he called the "outrageous, vulgar and inexcusable insults".

In its apology to the ambassador, the BBC said the comments may have been "rude" and "mischievous", but that there was no "vindictiveness" behind them.

"Our own comedians make jokes about the British being terrible cooks and terrible romantics, and we in turn make jokes about the Italians being disorganised and overdramatic, the French being arrogant and the Germans being over organised," the corporation added.

"Whilst it may appear offensive to those who have not watched the programme or who are unfamiliar with its humour, the executive producer has made it clear to the ambassador that that was absolutely not the show's intention."

The BBC said stereotype-based comedy was allowed within its guidelines in programmes during which the audience knew it could be expected.

Andy Wilman, the executive producer of Top Gear, also apologised to the ambassador personally for the remarks made about him.

In his letter to the BBC, the ambassador wrote: "The presenters of the programme resorted to outrageous, vulgar and inexcusable insults to stir bigoted feelings against the Mexican people, their culture as well as their official representative in the UK.

"These offensive, xenophobic and humiliating remarks only serve to reinforce negative stereotypes and perpetuate prejudice against Mexico and its people."

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