Polskie Radio Londyn - Polish Radio London

Jeremy Clarkson. Photo: BBC.co.uk The Polish embassy in London and Polish community groups have protested to the BBC about firebrand TV presenter Jeremy Clarkson's latest comments - which have managed to offend not one, but two communities.

Clarkson, the host of BBC2 "Top Gear" motoring show, made a spoof car advert that jokes about Germany's invasion of Poland in 1939, which led to the outbreak of the Second World War.

The embassy, and Labour Friends of Poland, a political interest group set up by the Labour Party, joined scores of angry Polish, German and other viewers to complain to the BBC, media regulator Ofcom and on an online message board after it was screened on Sunday night's show, watched by 6.7 million.

The spoof advert, for the Volkswagen Scirocco TDI car, contained a clip of people in Warsaw panicking and rushing to board trains and buses to escape the city.

The Polish press attache to London Robert Szaniawski commented to media on Thursday that he was aware Clarkson likes to poke fun at Germans and the French on the show, but that the backdrop of the war was inappropriate.

Meanwhile, Labour Friends of Poland informed Radio ORLA of its complaint to the BBC regarding Clarkson's sense of humour.

"Labour Friends of Poland wishes to express its strongest disapproval of the recent Volkswagen Scirocco spoof commercial featuring Jeremy Clarkson and making fun of the German invasion of Poland in 1939," said Labour Friends of Poland Secretary Wiktor Moszczynski.

"While Clarkson's boorish sense of humour may be popular with some young and inexperienced people who have not experienced tragedy or war in their lives, it is highly insensitive to both older and younger generations of Poles and we urge that Jeremy Clarkson should apologise to Polish people in this country," he added.

Filip Slipaczek, a Radio ORLA London Bridge show regular, and press spokesman of the Polish-Jewish Institute added: "The Anglo-Saxon humour. It is perfectly acceptable to attack Poland and Poles but not others ethnic minorities of a different skin colour and religion."