Women’s group fear racist attacks after Meghan Markle’s Jeremy Clarkson comments

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The Duke and Duchess of Sussex attend the National Service of Thanksgiving at St Paul’s Cathedral in June

Walsall Black Sisters Collective say the former Top Gear presenter’s comments about Meghan Markle, Duchess of Sussex, amounted to incitement and left its members ‘deeply disturbed’ for their safety .

Clarkson’s column in The Sun has so far drawn more than 20,000 complaints to press regulator IPSO.

Since its publication, Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? presenter said he was ‘horrified’ after ‘causing so much trouble’. The newspaper has now apologized and removed the column from its website, saying it was “sincerely sorry” and realized that “with freedom of speech comes responsibility”.

In a statement to the Express & Star, the Wednesbury Road group said the column’s feelings ‘knowingly or unknowingly’ show what Clarkson would like to happen to the Duchess and a vindication for the Sussexes in their complaints about their media coverage.

The statement read: “The Duchess is not a murderer, pedophile or criminal, but she is a beautiful, intelligent woman of color whom The Sun, as an independent news organization, must protect from micro-abuse .”

“By publishing Jeremy Clarkson’s article or column where he says he dreams of the Duchess of Sussex being forced to walk naked and humiliated with excrement thrown at her in public, The Sun has deeply disturbed a number of women on whose behalf we complain.

West Midlands Mayor Andy Street with Evadne Lewin and Maureen Lewis during a visit to the collective

“This is a form and level of abuse and violence that we never thought would be facilitated, enabled and promoted by a national publication. For the first time in our lives, this made us fear for other black women, our girl friends and our own relatives.

“A lot of black people know what’s going on and Clarkson, with the help of The Sun, whether conscious or unconscious, has incited hatred and fear for a people who have done nothing wrong.

“This is a very dangerous situation that you as an organization must stop. Fear creates and reinforces serious irrational behavior. We fear for others and for ourselves, but we also fear for M . Clarkson. We hope serious action will be taken.”

Jeremy Clarkson will remain the host of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?, for now at least

He welcomed the decision of a cross-party group of more than 60 MPs who wrote to Sun editor Victoria Newton condemning the article in the strongest terms, calling it hateful and contributing to a climate unacceptable hatred and violence.

The award-winning collective began in the 1980s to tackle unemployment issues facing young black women and has since grown into a thriving organization that focuses on issues affecting all communities, including education, mental health and programs for the elderly.

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