Top Gear has been cleared of allegations there was a “cover-up” over the use of a controversial number plate that appeared to refer to the Falklands conflict in its Patagonia TV special.
Presenters Jeremy Clarkson, James May and Richard Hammond were forced to flee from Argentina during filming last October.
The show’s makers have always insisted the use of the number plate H982 FKL on a Porsche driven by Clarkson was purely accidental.
The show, which went on to air as part of the BBC’s Christmas schedule, sparked a diplomatic incident that saw the Argentinian ambassador to the UK demanding an apology.
The BBC’s governing body, the BBC Trust, received several complaints about the show, including one that the number plate was deliberately chosen.
Another complainant accused the BBC of a “cover-up” and said they needed to see evidence of the purchase of the car to prove the “amazing coincidence”.
Others said that it was highly offensive to air the programme as a “Christmas special”.
“No evidence had been presented which demonstrated that the use of the number plate was a deliberate reference to the Falklands war and that therefore the [BBC] executive’s [own] investigation had been flawed,” said Fran O’Brien, head of editorial standards at the BBC Trust.
“These appeals did not raise a significant issue of general importance which was the threshold at which the trust would become involved in considering an operational complaint.”
