No 10 'wasted public money' on Clarkson attack
Jeremy Clarkson
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Two senior Tories travelling to the Beijing Olympics have had their request for public funding denied by the government.
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Wednesday, 20, Aug 2008 04:53
Downing Street wasted taxpayers' money attacking Jeremy Clarkson on You Tube, the Conservatives have claimed.
The minute long clip was created in response to a petition of 50,000 people on the Downing Street website calling for Mr Clarkson, Top Gear presenter and scourge of environmentalists, to become prime minister.
A tongue-in-cheek response, the video thanks those who contributed to the petition and says officials have "thought long and hard about the suggestion" before panning up the Downing Street steps with portraits of Britain's prime minister before focussing on a photo of Mr Clarkson. An on screen message then reads: "But on second thoughts... maybe not."
No 10 says the video was created by a member of staff in a "spare half hour" and had not cost any extra cash.
But a Conservative party spokesman suggested it was bad timing given the state of the economy.
"While the British public is having to tighten its belts, the government is spending taxpayers' money on a completely frivolous project."
"This shows how detached the Labour Party has become from the concerns of the British people."