I don't normally like to comment on politics - its frankly a little boring.You've probably guessed from the opening sentence that there is a large cliche'd 'but' coming, and you'd be totally right.

After a spate of scandals of the formula X said Y and Z wasn't happy about it, Jeremy Clarkson is back in the news for another apparent faux pas. This time, the target of his verbal barbs were not hauliers who allegedly murdered members of the oldest profession, but the PM.

From the BBC:

Speaking to journalists in Sydney, the presenter reportedly called the prime minister a "one-eyed Scottish idiot".

This has resulted in a torrent of complaints from....two Scottish MPs. According to Iain Gray, the Scottish Labour Leader:

"Most people here are proud that the prime minister is a Scot and believe him to be the right person to get the UK through this global economic crisis."

I did a little straw poll in the office, and none of us could care less about the nationality of our Prime Minister, one guy didn't even know he was Scottish. Personally, the only pride I feel is that we haven't yet outsourced the government of the nation to India - which would probably save us a few of those billions we're short of at the moment.

As for the second point..no, we don't, or at least I don't. Leaving the job of sorting out the biggest financial mess this century (I won't say "since records began" as they only go back about 20 years, apparently) to the guy who effectively led us into it in the first place is something like hiring a convicted arsonist to run the local fire station...in 1666.

But political views aside (and locked safely away until the next election), considering a joke about the Prime Minister to be an offence to an entire nation is absurd. Ignoring the implications on free speech (and avoiding Godwin's Law), such thinking would have put the entire cast of Spitting Image in hot water every single week...and they only got in trouble a coupla times over 10 years. Should we also consider jibes about George W's resemblance to a monkey to be a slight against the whole of Texas (and the simian nation)? Well...no, he's not in power any more, but still.

Its a little sad that its fashionable nowadays to make a scandal out of every silly thing a famous person says. Even when they're off air, apparently.

What's even sadder is that the general public seem totally immune. Nobody even raised an eyebrow when a striking refinery worker - a refinery worker on strike, not one that was looking particularly lovely that day - claimed that he couldn't work with "Eyeties". On the news. On the BBC. At 6pm. British Jobs for Xenophobic Fools!

Also of note is that only the Scottish seemed bothered by Clarkson's complaints, nobody from any charities for the blind came forward to criticise the comments...nor did any idiots for that matter. And I thought the Scots were a tough bunch, where's Begbie when you need him?