Jeremy Clarkson: 'Lives were at risk as I hid under my bed' to avoid angry mob in Argentina

The crew of Top Gear were forced to 'bravely hide under beds' as an angry mob surrounded their hotel due a controversy regarding the Falklands war.

By Dave Lancaster |

15:52 06 October 2014

When it was discovered that Top Gear presenter Jeremy Clarkson was using a Porsche with the number plate H982 FKL to drive around Argentina, some angry protesters saw this as a comment on the 1982 war between Argentina and the UK over the Falkland Islands.

Clarkson took to Twitter to state that “for once, we did nothing wrong”.

The controversial presenter wrote: "All TG crew now safely out of Argentina. I just got back to UK.

"The number plate WAS a coincidence. When it was pointed out to us, we changed it.

"And these war veterans we upset. Mostly they were in their 20s. Do the maths.

"They threw us out for the political capital. Thousands chased crew to border. Someone could have been killed.

"This was not a jolly jape that went awry. For once, we did nothing wrong."

A BBC spokesman echoed: “As the executive producer has made clear, the number plate issue is a very unfortunate coincidence.”

But that reasoning did little to diffuse the situation at the time to which Clarkson described the attack as “the most terrifying thing I’ve ever been involved in”.

The star said: “There were hundreds of them. They were hurling rocks and bricks at our cars.”

The cars themselves (a Porsche, Lotus Esprit and Ford Mustang) were abandoned with one crew member telling local media “we’re leaving them here; we don’t want any more problems. Set fire to them if you like”.

After it all blew over, Clarkson - in the safety of the UK - told the Sunday Times: “There is no question in my mind that we had walked into a trap.

“Make no mistake lives were at risk. Bonnets were banged, abuse was hurled. The police arrived and immediately breathalysed us.

“Richard Hammond, James May and I bravely hid under the bed in a researcher’s room as protesters went through the hotel looking for us. The car park was filling up. This was starting to get ugly.”

Top Gear has previously found itself in hot water for criticising national groups in past episodes.