Jeremy Clarkson responds as he's slammed for mocking dyslexic lawyer's spelling
Jeremy Clarkson has responded to furious backlash over a comment he made about dyslexic lawyer, Charles Streeten.
A moment in the second Amazon series of Clarkson's Farm shows Jeremy, 62, walking out of a meeting over planning permission to extend his Diddly Squat farm.
The former Top Gear host was heard telling barrister – who was representing the local council – "you should learn to spell", as he walked past him while making the jibe.
Jeremy's comment has left him in hot water after the episode began streaming as lawyer Streeten shared an open letter where he spoke of his dyslexia and explained how it hadn't affected his career.
The Grand Tour presenter has NOW responded in a statement as he said: "It’s great that Mr Streeten has overcome his dyslexia to such an extent that he’s able to send such a well-spelt letter from Jamaica.
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Jeremy Clarkson has found himself in hot water once again"It’s just a shame he chose not to mention his learning difficulty when we met at the planning meeting more than a year ago. Because if he had, the exchange would not have been televised."
Streeten's letter read, according to The Times: "Learn to spell.’ Well, I’ve certainly tried. When you muttered those words to me you couldn’t have known how many times I’ve heard them. But to a dyslexic, it’s a familiar phrase."
The lawyer then looked back on his time in school as he said: "No matter how hard I worked, or how often I stowed the list of words beneath my pillow, when the time came to be tested, I simply could not put the letters in order with certainty.
"My ears would burn and I would know I’d failed again."
Clarkson was seen telling the barrister to 'learn to spell' (AMAZON)Streeten said he was inspired by dyslexic journalist AA Gill, who was a close friend of Clarkson's, as he wrote: "No one has ever better expressed the simmering frustration of a dyslexic education than your friend, AA Gill."
He also insisted that his dyslexia hasn't impacted his career as he ended the letter with: "Whether a writer, a barrister, or a farmer, good spelling, it seems, is not essential."
The barrister added how he was not expecting Clarkson's remark be be included in the programme.
Meanwhile, a spokesman for Clarkson's Farm told the publication, said Jeremy's comment in the meeting had come "after Streeten had presented his case against a planning application which focused on provocative statements about Clarkson’s personality rather than the merits of the case".
Jeremy Clarkson has reacted to the open letterThis isn't the first time Jeremy has seen himself in hot water in recent weeks.
Jeremy's column received a record number of IPSO complaints after he made a vile comment about Meghan Markle.
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He said he hated the Duchess of Sussex "on a cellular level" and wanted to see her "paraded naked through the streets".
Clarkson apologised for the column, which was later pulled, after it outraged the public and received 25,100 complaints to IPSO.
Clarkson is being probed by IPSO for his Meghan Markle comments (Netflix)He then wrote another apology in January, where he said he was "profoundly sorry" and the language he used was "disgraceful".
IPSO has since confirmed it is investigating the article looking into complaints from The Fawcett Society and The Wilde Foundation, which allege clauses in the editors' code of practice were breached.
In a statement, IPSO said: "We are taking forward complaints from two groups, The Fawcett Society and The Wilde Foundation, who said they were affected by breaches of Clause 1 (Accuracy), Clause 3 (Harassment) and Clause 12 (Discrimination) in the article."
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