The City Of Westminster Isn't Happy About Top Gear's Cenotaph Hoon

Top Gear always had a thing for courting controversy under Jeremy Clarkson, James May and Richard Hammond, and that tradition seems to be continuing with Chris Evans as host, with the show angering many for burning rubber near London’s Cenotaph war memorial. Evans has apologised “unreservedly” for filming at the weekend featuring Ken Block kicking up a load of tyre smoke near the monument, but in an interesting turn, the City of Westminster has said that the shoot went against what had been agreed when it gave permission for the show to use closed roads in the London borough.

In a statement, it said: “Respect for the Cenotaph and its special place in the heart of London is vitally important. Therefore Westminster City Council takes any requests for filming in Whitehall and near the Cenotaph very seriously indeed.” The statement goes on to say: “permission was given for the Top Gear car to drive down Whitehall before moving to another location…There was no discussion between BBC producers and Westminster City Council about wheel spins and a ‘donut’ and permission would not have been given to do so.”

However, the BBC has released its own statement, noting that the filming efforts were part of a “large-scale, complex shoot, prepared over a period of four months” and went on to say that:

“The Cenotaph was at no point intended to feature in the programme and therefore will not appear in the final film. However, we are acutely aware of how some of the images in the press look today via the angle and distance they were taken and for which, as Chris Evans has already said, we sincerely apologise.”

A BBC spokesperson has also said that the car was 40 metres away from the memorial while being filmed, but paparazzi photos made it appear as though Ken Block’s ‘Hoonicorn’ Ford Mustang was a lot closer.