IPSO has launched an investigation into Jeremy Clarkson's vile rant about Meghan Markle, as the presenter is pictured returning to work on a new series of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire.
The independent regulator of UK newspapers received more than 25,100 complaints from members of the public over Clarkson's column in December, in which he said he hates the Duchess of Sussex "on a cellular level" and wants her to be "paraded naked through the streets".
His words prompted fury from the public and his own daughter distanced herself from the rant, saying she stands against everything he wrote.
The sun removed the article, published in December, and Clarkson apologised, followed by another apology in January, where he said he was "profoundly sorry" and the language he used was "disgraceful".
Now, IPSO has confirmed it is investigation the article, looking into complaints from The Fawcett Society and The Wilde Foundation, which allege clauses in the editors' code of practice were breached.
The code sets out rules that newspapers and magazine regulated by IPSO have agreed to follow, and members of the public can complain if they believe a clause has been breached, with IPSO ruling on the matter and possibly imposing sanctions or actions.
In a statement, IPSO said: "We are taking forward complaints from two groups, The Fawcett Society and The Wilde Foundation, who said they were affected by breaches of Clause 1 (Accuracy), Clause 3 (Harassment) and Clause 12 (Discrimination) in the article."
It did not say when the ruling will be made.
The fallout from Clarkson's column continues, as A Who Wants To Be A Millionaire celebrity special was shelved after female stars refused to work with him.
The Mirror exclusively reported this month that three female stars made it “very loud and very clear” that they did not want to be on TV with the host.
The normal version of the show with Clarkson at the helm is being filmed this month. ITV sources say that while they are contractually commissioned to go ahead with it, there are “no further commissioning commitments”.
Clarkson has hosted the show since 2018 and still retains a lot of fans.
A petition calling on ITV CEO Carolyn McCall for him to keep his job as host of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? has now hit more than 62,000 signatures.
He said after the initial outcry: “We’ve all been there. We realise we’ve messed up. Your head pounds. And you feel sick. Had I really said that? It was horrible.”
The columnist later revealed he had said sorry to Prince Harry and Duchess Meghan, and admitted that TV bosses were furious with him.
Clarkson said he had emailed the Sussexes to apologise on Christmas Day.
He wrote in an Instagram post: “I really am sorry. This is me putting my hands up. A mea culpa with bells on.”
But a spokesman for the duke and duchess claimed he had only sent the email to Prince Harry.
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