£1.8m-a-year Clarkson in apology for ‘execute the strikers’ jibe

His apology follows a day of condemnation from politicians and calls by union leaders for him to be sacked by the BBC.

Prime Minister David Cameron and Labour leader Ed Miliband were among those who took a dim view of the presenter’s remarks.

The BBC issued an apology immediately after the incident on the The One Show on Wednesday evening, the day of the biggest public sector strike in 30 years.

Clarkson, 51, who is on a salary of more than £1m and earns an additional estimated £800,000 from Top Gear merchandising, said of the strikers: “I’d have them all shot. I would take them outside and execute them in front of their families.

“I mean, how dare they go on strike when they’ve got these gilt-edged pensions that are going to be guaranteed while the rest of us have to work for a living?”

Angry viewers bombarded the BBC with calls and by yesterday afternoon the corporation had received nearly 5,000 complaints.

Clarkson said yesterday: “I didn’t for a moment intend these remarks to be taken seriously – as I believe is clear if they’re seen in context.

“If the BBC and I have caused any offence, I’m quite happy to apologise for it alongside them.”

Mr Cameron, who is a personal friend of Clarkson, dismissed his comments as “silly”.

Speaking on ITV’s This Morning programme yesterday, the Prime Minister said: “It was obviously a silly thing to say and I am sure he didn’t mean that.”

Mr Miliband said the comments were “absolutely disgraceful and disgusting”.

He added: “He obviously does not understand the lives of the people who were going out on strike yesterday.”

Unison called on the corporation to sack the presenter and said it was seeking legal advice over the “appalling” comments.

The union, which represents more than a million public- sector workers, said it was considering whether the comments should be referred to the police.

Dave Prentis, Unison general secretary, said: “Such disgusting statements have no place on our TV screens.

“Whilst he is driving round in fast cars for a living, public-sector workers are busy holding our society together – they save others’ lives on a daily basis, they care for the sick, the vulnerable, the elderly.

“They wipe bottoms, noses, they help children to learn, and empty bins. They deserve all our thanks – certainly not the unbelievable level of abuse he threw at them.”

Last night, Unison welcomed Clarkson’s apology, inviting him to join a healthcare assistant on a hospital ward.

Yesterday the BBC set up a special slot on its online complaints page to enable viewers to complain directly about the show.

ROAD RAGER

From driving a Toyota pick-up truck into a tree to joking about deliberately hitting cyclists, Jeremy Clarkson is often the subject of BBC apologies and has earned the wrath of animal lovers, road safety groups and MPs.

His rants on everything from take-away food in Birmingham to Vauxhall Vectras have made the boorish presenter one of the corporation’s most well-known faces.

In February 2009, he called then prime minister Gordon Brown a “one-eyed Scottish idiot” and in November the previous year, the BBC received almost 2,000 complaints when he joked about lorry drivers murdering prostitutes.

More recently, in October, it emerged he had taken out and then abandoned an injunction to prevent allegations about his private life being published.