BBC Suspend News Correspondent and top Gear host, Jeremy Clarkson, after 'fracas'

BBC News special correspondent Lucy Manning said sources
had confirmed reports Clarkson was suspended for "allegedly
hitting a producer".
"The incident is believed to have happened last week, but was
reported to the BBC on Monday and dealt with on Tuesday,"
she added.
"The next two episodes of Top Gear will not be broadcast and
it's understood that a third programme, the final of the series,
is unlikely to be transmitted."

'Sorry Ed'
Clarkson's representatives have yet to reply to requests for a
comment.
In an exchange on Twitter, Clarkson and co-hosts Richard
Hammond and James May have been suggesting films that
could be aired in place of the Sunday's Top Gear episode.
Later - in an apparent reference to Ed Miliband - Clarkson
tweeted: "Sorry Ed. It seems I knocked your 'I'm a human'
piece down the news agenda."

Justine Miliband, the Labour leader's wife, has given an
interview to the BBC saying she expects personal attacks on
her husband to be "really vicious" as May's election
approaches.
This weekend's episode of Top Gear was set to feature
Clarkson - who has fronted the show since 2002 - and his
fellow presenters at a classic track day.
Former footballer and pundit Gary Lineker was also to appear
as the "star in a reasonably priced car".
Lineker has tweeted : "I don't think I'm ever meant to appear
on Top Gear!"
'Strong character'
Former Top Gear presenter Chris Goffey told BBC Radio 5 live
that, while discussions on the programme sometimes became
heated when he worked on the show, it "must have been
something fairly serious behind the scenes to warrant his
immediate suspension".
"I can't think what the hell's gone on, but there you go. When
you've got a very strong character who likes things his own
way, if somebody stands up to him, there's going to be a
row."

Clarkson has courted controversy on several occasions during
his time hosting Top Gear.
The show's executive producer, Andy Wilman, described last
year as an "annus horribilis" for the programme.
It followed an incident in Argentina where the presenters and
crew were forced to flee the country after trouble erupted over
a number plate reading H982 FLK - which some suggested
referred to the Falklands conflict of 1982.
Last year the show was also censured by Ofcom for breaching
broadcasting rules after Clarkson used a derogatory word for
Asian people during its Burma special programme.

Other Top Gear controversies
May 2014 - The programme drew complaints when video
footage leaked to the Daily Mirror appeared to show
Jeremy Clarkson using a racist term while reciting the
nursery rhyme Eeny, Meeny, Miny, Moe. The presenter later
apologised for the incident, which was never broadcast
October 2012 - The BBC Trust ruled comments by
Clarkson which likened the design of a camper van to
people with facial disfigurements breached disability
guidelines.
January 2012 - Indian diplomats complained about a 90-
minute India special in which a car fitted with a toilet in its
boot is described by Clarkson as "perfect for India because
everyone who comes here gets the trots".
February 2011 - The BBC apologised to Mexico after
Clarkson and his co-hosts characterised Mexicans as
"lazy" and "feckless".