BBC apologizes for remarks about Mexicans

LONDON, Feb. 4 (UPI) -- The BBC apologized to the Mexican ambassador in London for remarks made by hosts of the TV show "Top Gear."

The state-owned TV network sent a letter to the ambassador apologizing for the comments, including Richard Hammond's remark that Mexican sports cars reflect the people of the nation by being "lazy, feckless, flatulent, overweight, leaning against a fence asleep looking at a cactus with a blanket with a hole in the middle on as a coat," the BBC reported Friday.

The BBC said the remark was "rude" and "mischievous" but no "vindictiveness" was intended by the host.

"Our own comedians make jokes about the British being terrible cooks and terrible romantics, and we in turn make jokes about the Italians being disorganized and over-dramatic, the French being arrogant and the Germans being over-organized," the BBC said.

"Whilst it may appear offensive to those who have not watched the program or who are unfamiliar with its humor, the executive producer has made it clear to the ambassador that that was absolutely not the show's intention," the BBC said.