JEREMY Clarkson’s newspaper column in which he said he ‘hated’ Meghan Markle has become the Independent Press Standards Organisations most complained about article.
It has now received more than 17,500 complaints with the SNP’s Westminster group writing to The Sun saying they are “deeply concerned” by the “hateful” use of language.
The previous most complained-about article was published in the Scottish Sun in August 2020, about the Stonehaven train derailment, which received more than 16,860 complaints
The piece has faced significant backlash, including from the First Minister who said that Clarkson’s words were “deeply misogynist.
The SNP group’s letter follows on from John Nicolson, who had already written to the chief executive of ITV.
It reads: “To print a comparison of the democratically elected First Minister of Scotland to a serial killer is shocking and entirely inappropriate.
“Mr Clarkson’s political views should not be an excuse for engaging in this gratuitous hatred.
“It is no wonder we have fewer women in political life, across all parties, than we ought to, when this kind of narrative is seen as acceptable.”
The graph below shows how the number of complaints received by Ipso about the article has drastically increased since yesterday morning.
The letter continued to say that the piece “should never have been printed” and that his “bile-filled violent rant” rightly led to widespread criticism.
It added: “It is entirely possible to disagree without resorting to the misogyny and violent language Mr Clarkson used.
“The Sun should recognise this, retract this article, and apologise.”
More than 60 MPs have already sent a letter to the newspaper’s editor calling for the piece to be retracted and for an apology to be issued to Markle.
The Sun declined to comment when approached by The National.
