The BBC's Top Gear has steered into new controversy after criticism that the crew are filming in Argentina using a car whose number plate appears to refer to the Falklands War.
The programme team are using a Porsche with the registration number H982 FKL, which some people locally have suggested could be seen to refer to the Falklands conflict which took place in 1982.
However show bosses have said the plate was merely a coincidence and was not chosen deliberately.
This year the programme has had a number of difficulties with one edition found to be in breach of Ofcom's broadcasting code for the use of a racially offensive term during a two-part special filmed in Burma, following a complaint from a viewer.
And presenter Jeremy Clarkson apologised after unbroadcast footage emerged in which he appeared to use the n-word, although he denied he actually uttered the word.
The team from the BBC2 show are in South America filming a special on a remote highway passing through Chile and Argentina.
A story about the Top Gear visit in the Patagonian daily newspaper Diario Jornada is headlined: "Top Gear is filming in Patagonia and there's controversy."
The paper says: "Even though the BBC authorities asked the popular presenter Jeremy Clarkson to behave himself during his time in Argentina, he chose to use the provocative number plate 'H982 FKL' on his Porsche, in reference to '1982 Falklands (Malvinas)'."
But the executive producer of Top Gear, Andy Wilman, said: "Top Gear production purchased three cars for a forthcoming programme; to suggest that this car was either chosen for its number plate, or that an alternative number plate was substituted for the original is completely untrue."
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article