By . Daniel Martin, Emily Allen and Hugo Gye . Last updated at 5:08 PM on 3rd December 2011 . Apology: Jeremy Clarkson at Heathrow on Thursday following the outcry over his comments . Jeremy Clarkson has caused another controversy after today criticising people who kill themselves on train lines. The notorious presenter said that anyone who committed suicide in this way was 'very selfish' for traumatising train drivers and inconveniencing commuters. His latest outburst comes as it is revealed that his joke about executing public sector workers for going on strike was pre-arranged with television producers. The BBC has so far received 21,335 complaints about Mr Clarkson's comments on Wednesday evening's edition of The One Show. And now he is set to trigger further outcry with his insensitive remarks about suicide victims - whom he calls 'Johnny Suicide' - in his newspaper column today. He wrote that killing oneself by jumping in front of a train 'is a very selfish way to go because the disruption it causes is immense.' Mr Clarkson claimed that train drivers involved in these cases are 'traumatised for life', and complained that passengers would 'have to sit around for hours'. And he added that trains should not wait until all the remains of the body had been removed from tracks, saying - grotesquely - that drivers should instead 'get the train moving as soon as possible and let foxy woxy and the birds nibble away at the smaller, gooey parts that are far away and hard to find.' However, in his article for The Sun Mr Clarkson stressed that he had 'the deepest sympathy for anyone whose life is so mangled and messed up that they believe death's icy embrace will be better.' Paul Farmer, chief executive of Mind, described the comments as 'extraordinarily tasteless', especially in the wake of the death of footballer Gary Speed. He told BBC Radio 5 Live: 'I think there will be many people who have lost loved ones to suicide and people who have contemplated suicide that will think it is in extremely bad taste. 'This is a man who really doesn't understand what he is talking about.' Marjorie Wallace, chief executive of the mental health charity Sane, said: 'We are absolutely appalled that Jeremy Clarkson should accuse people who throw themselves on railway lines of being selfish. 'Sadly he is not the first person to show this lack of understanding.' Strike storm: Jeremy Clarkson at Heathrow airport with fellow Top Gear presenter James May (rear) kissing a woman's hand . Earlier this week Mr Clarkson . triggered thousands of complaints after saying public sector strikers . should be ‘executed’ in front of their families. But now it has emerged producers thought it would be amusing if . the Top Gear host offered an extreme view of the strike that was not . meant to be taken seriously, The Times said. The . production team were aware of the contents prior to broadcast but Mr . Clarkson apparently took it one step further than they had expected when . he said strikers should be shot in front of their families. In . a day of extraordinary overreaction yesterday to what was clearly meant . as a joke, one union official threatened to report Mr Clarkson to . police, while another said his comments were worthy of Colonel Gaddafi. Even . the Prime Minister, a friend of Mr Clarkson, was dragged into the row, . describing the remarks as ‘silly’, while Ed Miliband said they were . ‘disgusting’. By Thursday . evening, when Mr Clarkson was finally forced to issue an apology, the . BBC had received almost 5,000 complaints about the interview. Yesterday morning that figure had risen to more than 20,000. In . an interview with The Sun, the 51-year-old likened the incident to . 'Sachs-gate,' the 2008 debacle in which Jonathan Ross and Russell Brand . left messages on actor Andrew Sachs' answering machine claiming Brand . had slept with his granddaughter. The prank sparked a public outcry resulting in Brand's resignation and Ross's suspension from the corporation. In all the BBC received 38,000 complaints about Sachs-gate, putting it only second to a broadcast of Jerry Springer: The Opera, which garnered more than 55,000 complaints. 'It's like the Jonathan Ross thing - it's a knee-jerk reaction,' Mr Clarkson told the paper. 'I was just making a joke about the . BBC's need to be impartial. If you listen to the whole interview, you'll . see there isn't a case to answer. 'Most people who are complaining haven't seen the full interview.' Controversial: Mr Clarkson said he wanted to see strikers shot when he appeared on the One Show this week . Awkward: Presenters Matt Baker and Alex Jones squirmed as Mr Clarkson made his comments on the live programme . The row erupted after millions saw the Top Gear host asked for his views on the day’s nationwide strikes. He started by saying he liked the strikers, because the industrial action had meant there was no traffic on the roads. But after insisting he had to be balanced as he worked for the impartial BBC, he launched into a satirical rant. Thousands of public sector workers joined pickets and marches across the country on Wednesday in a strike over pensions and cuts . He said: ‘Frankly, I would have them shot. I would have them taken outside and executed in front of their families.’ On Thursday the Prime Minister, whose . ‘Chipping Norton Set’ of friends includes Mr Clarkson, former News of . the World and Sun editor Rebekah Brooks and PR man Matthew Freud, was . forced to disassociate himself from the comments. Asked about them on ITV’s This Morning show, Mr Cameron said it was ‘a silly thing to say – I’m sure he didn’t mean it’. Labour leader Mr Miliband said the . remark was ‘absolutely disgraceful and disgusting’, adding: ‘He . obviously does not understand the lives of the people who were going out . on strike yesterday.’ Jeremy Clarkson's remarks about wanting to shoot strikers are the latest in a long line of controversial comments that are likely to add to his ever-increasing list of enemies. In February 2009, he famously 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 an injunction to prevent allegations about his private life being published. Back in September 2005, he had a custard pie thrown in his face by green campaigners after picking up an honorary degree at Oxford Brookes University. Also that year, he offered some 'handy hints' to cyclists, saying: 'Do not cruise through red lights. Because if I'm coming the other way, I will run you down, for fun.' In November 2004, conservationists accused him of ruining virgin hillside during an off-road test of a Land Rover for the motoring programme. And in February 2004, the BBC paid £250 compensation to Churchill Parish Council in Somerset after Mr Clarkson drove a 4x4 Toyota pick-up truck into a 30-year-old horse chestnut tree to test the vehicle's strength. The unions exploded in fury, with . Unison calling on the BBC to sack the presenter and even contacting . lawyers to consider whether he could be reported to the police for . inciting violence. Dave Prentis, Unison’s general . secretary, said: ‘The One Show is broadcast at a time when children are . watching: they could have been scared and upset by his aggressive . statements. ‘While 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.’ The union’s health spokesman Karen Jennings went as far as describing the comments as ‘almost like Gaddafi’. Bob Crow, leader of the RMT union, . said Mr Clarkson was a ‘man who bleeds a fortune out of the . licence-payer for poncing around the world driving luxury cars’. ‘Clarkson’s incitement to violence, . and the refusal of David Cameron to roundly condemn it, is grossly . offensive to all public sector workers but even more so to our members . on the Royal Fleet Auxiliary who were on strike on Wednesday and who . risk their lives in trouble spots around the world servicing the Naval . fleet,’ he said. Bert Schouwenburg, of the GMB union, said: ‘Jeremy Clarkson’s vile and offensive comments are insensitive in the extreme. ‘GMB works with trade unions . representing employees on banana and pineapple plantations in Latin . America where activists have met exactly the fate that Mr Clarkson . describes.’ By 5pm on Thursday, the presenter had issued an apology. When Mr Clarkson was asked for his . reaction before flying out of the country, he said: ‘See what I actually . said and then judge. '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.’ The BBC said: ‘The One Show is a live topical . programme which often reflects the day’s talking points. Usually we get . it right, but on this occasion we feel the item wasn’t perfectly judged. 'The BBC and Jeremy would like to apologise for any offence caused.’ Last night Tory MP Douglas Carswell called for a sense of perspective. ‘We shouldn’t rise to the bait on this,’ he said. ‘This is politicians causing mischief.’ Mr Clarkson’s comments have regularly landed him in hot water. Earlier this year, an item on Top Gear led to a complaint from the Mexican ambassador over ‘vulgar’ insults about Mexicans. Mr Clarkson also called the then prime minister . Gordon Brown a ‘one-eyed Scottish idiot’ and triggered 2,000 complaints . when he joked about lorry drivers murdering prostitutes.
Outspoken character criticises 'Johnny Suicide' for holding up commuters' journeys .
Ill-fated strikers joke was arranged with producers in advance .
BBC has so far received 21,335 complaints over One Show comments .
By . Daniel Martin, Emily Allen and Hugo Gye . Last updated at 5:08 PM on 3rd December 2011 . Apology: Jeremy Clarkson at Heathrow on Thursday following the outcry over his comments . Jeremy Clarkson has caused another controversy after today criticising people who kill themselves on train lines. The notorious presenter said that anyone who committed suicide in this way was 'very selfish' for traumatising train drivers and inconveniencing commuters. His latest outburst comes as it is revealed that his joke about executing public sector workers for going on strike was pre-arranged with television producers. The BBC has so far received 21,335 complaints about Mr Clarkson's comments on Wednesday evening's edition of The One Show. And now he is set to trigger further outcry with his insensitive remarks about suicide victims - whom he calls 'Johnny Suicide' - in his newspaper column today. He wrote that killing oneself by jumping in front of a train 'is a very selfish way to go because the disruption it causes is immense.' Mr Clarkson claimed that train drivers involved in these cases are 'traumatised for life', and complained that passengers would 'have to sit around for hours'. And he added that trains should not wait until all the remains of the body had been removed from tracks, saying - grotesquely - that drivers should instead 'get the train moving as soon as possible and let foxy woxy and the birds nibble away at the smaller, gooey parts that are far away and hard to find.' However, in his article for The Sun Mr Clarkson stressed that he had 'the deepest sympathy for anyone whose life is so mangled and messed up that they believe death's icy embrace will be better.' Paul Farmer, chief executive of Mind, described the comments as 'extraordinarily tasteless', especially in the wake of the death of footballer Gary Speed. He told BBC Radio 5 Live: 'I think there will be many people who have lost loved ones to suicide and people who have contemplated suicide that will think it is in extremely bad taste. 'This is a man who really doesn't understand what he is talking about.' Marjorie Wallace, chief executive of the mental health charity Sane, said: 'We are absolutely appalled that Jeremy Clarkson should accuse people who throw themselves on railway lines of being selfish. 'Sadly he is not the first person to show this lack of understanding.' Strike storm: Jeremy Clarkson at Heathrow airport with fellow Top Gear presenter James May (rear) kissing a woman's hand . Earlier this week Mr Clarkson . triggered thousands of complaints after saying public sector strikers . should be ‘executed’ in front of their families. But now it has emerged producers thought it would be amusing if . the Top Gear host offered an extreme view of the strike that was not . meant to be taken seriously, The Times said. The . production team were aware of the contents prior to broadcast but Mr . Clarkson apparently took it one step further than they had expected when . he said strikers should be shot in front of their families. In . a day of extraordinary overreaction yesterday to what was clearly meant . as a joke, one union official threatened to report Mr Clarkson to . police, while another said his comments were worthy of Colonel Gaddafi. Even . the Prime Minister, a friend of Mr Clarkson, was dragged into the row, . describing the remarks as ‘silly’, while Ed Miliband said they were . ‘disgusting’. By Thursday . evening, when Mr Clarkson was finally forced to issue an apology, the . BBC had received almost 5,000 complaints about the interview. Yesterday morning that figure had risen to more than 20,000. In . an interview with The Sun, the 51-year-old likened the incident to . 'Sachs-gate,' the 2008 debacle in which Jonathan Ross and Russell Brand . left messages on actor Andrew Sachs' answering machine claiming Brand . had slept with his granddaughter. The prank sparked a public outcry resulting in Brand's resignation and Ross's suspension from the corporation. In all the BBC received 38,000 complaints about Sachs-gate, putting it only second to a broadcast of Jerry Springer: The Opera, which garnered more than 55,000 complaints. 'It's like the Jonathan Ross thing - it's a knee-jerk reaction,' Mr Clarkson told the paper. 'I was just making a joke about the . BBC's need to be impartial. If you listen to the whole interview, you'll . see there isn't a case to answer. 'Most people who are complaining haven't seen the full interview.' Controversial: Mr Clarkson said he wanted to see strikers shot when he appeared on the One Show this week . Awkward: Presenters Matt Baker and Alex Jones squirmed as Mr Clarkson made his comments on the live programme . The row erupted after millions saw the Top Gear host asked for his views on the day’s nationwide strikes. He started by saying he liked the strikers, because the industrial action had meant there was no traffic on the roads. But after insisting he had to be balanced as he worked for the impartial BBC, he launched into a satirical rant. Thousands of public sector workers joined pickets and marches across the country on Wednesday in a strike over pensions and cuts . He said: ‘Frankly, I would have them shot. I would have them taken outside and executed in front of their families.’ On Thursday the Prime Minister, whose . ‘Chipping Norton Set’ of friends includes Mr Clarkson, former News of . the World and Sun editor Rebekah Brooks and PR man Matthew Freud, was . forced to disassociate himself from the comments. Asked about them on ITV’s This Morning show, Mr Cameron said it was ‘a silly thing to say – I’m sure he didn’t mean it’. Labour leader Mr Miliband said the . remark was ‘absolutely disgraceful and disgusting’, adding: ‘He . obviously does not understand the lives of the people who were going out . on strike yesterday.’ Jeremy Clarkson's remarks about wanting to shoot strikers are the latest in a long line of controversial comments that are likely to add to his ever-increasing list of enemies. In February 2009, he famously 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 an injunction to prevent allegations about his private life being published. Back in September 2005, he had a custard pie thrown in his face by green campaigners after picking up an honorary degree at Oxford Brookes University. Also that year, he offered some 'handy hints' to cyclists, saying: 'Do not cruise through red lights. Because if I'm coming the other way, I will run you down, for fun.' In November 2004, conservationists accused him of ruining virgin hillside during an off-road test of a Land Rover for the motoring programme. And in February 2004, the BBC paid £250 compensation to Churchill Parish Council in Somerset after Mr Clarkson drove a 4x4 Toyota pick-up truck into a 30-year-old horse chestnut tree to test the vehicle's strength. The unions exploded in fury, with . Unison calling on the BBC to sack the presenter and even contacting . lawyers to consider whether he could be reported to the police for . inciting violence. Dave Prentis, Unison’s general . secretary, said: ‘The One Show is broadcast at a time when children are . watching: they could have been scared and upset by his aggressive . statements. ‘While 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.’ The union’s health spokesman Karen Jennings went as far as describing the comments as ‘almost like Gaddafi’. Bob Crow, leader of the RMT union, . said Mr Clarkson was a ‘man who bleeds a fortune out of the . licence-payer for poncing around the world driving luxury cars’. ‘Clarkson’s incitement to violence, . and the refusal of David Cameron to roundly condemn it, is grossly . offensive to all public sector workers but even more so to our members . on the Royal Fleet Auxiliary who were on strike on Wednesday and who . risk their lives in trouble spots around the world servicing the Naval . fleet,’ he said. Bert Schouwenburg, of the GMB union, said: ‘Jeremy Clarkson’s vile and offensive comments are insensitive in the extreme. ‘GMB works with trade unions . representing employees on banana and pineapple plantations in Latin . America where activists have met exactly the fate that Mr Clarkson . describes.’ By 5pm on Thursday, the presenter had issued an apology. When Mr Clarkson was asked for his . reaction before flying out of the country, he said: ‘See what I actually . said and then judge. '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.’ The BBC said: ‘The One Show is a live topical . programme which often reflects the day’s talking points. Usually we get . it right, but on this occasion we feel the item wasn’t perfectly judged. 'The BBC and Jeremy would like to apologise for any offence caused.’ Last night Tory MP Douglas Carswell called for a sense of perspective. ‘We shouldn’t rise to the bait on this,’ he said. ‘This is politicians causing mischief.’ Mr Clarkson’s comments have regularly landed him in hot water. Earlier this year, an item on Top Gear led to a complaint from the Mexican ambassador over ‘vulgar’ insults about Mexicans. Mr Clarkson also called the then prime minister . Gordon Brown a ‘one-eyed Scottish idiot’ and triggered 2,000 complaints . when he joked about lorry drivers murdering prostitutes.
strike was pre-arranged with television producers. The BBC has so far received 21,335 complaints about Mr Clarkson's comments on he calls 'Johnny Suicide' - in his newspaper strikers shot when he appeared on the One Show