Number 10 responds to Jeremy Clarkson joke

You'd think Gordon Brown would have more things to worry about than Jeremy Clarkson, the oafish presenter of the BBC’s motoring programme Top Gear. But it appears not. Toilers in Downing Street have expended some effort and money in responding to a jokey online email petition that called for Clarkson to be made Prime Minister, releasing a 55 second video on YouTube congratulating those who took part in the campaign.

Nearly 50,000 people had signed the petition, but no one expected it to be taken seriously. However, the video, which is set to classical music and features a superimposed image of Clarkson looking statesmanlike in Downing Street, praises the campaign saying it "made a compelling case" - clearly a craven attempt to reach out to Top Gear's six million odd viewers.

One of those who signed the petition, Steve Rowley, was clearly unimpressed. "Do they seriously have nothing better to do." Meanwhile, Downing Street insist no great cost was incurred – they claim the video was made in half-an-hour by an official working on the PM’s website. Said a spokesman: "It was a light-hearted response to a humorous petition."   ·