Top Gear is being investigated by media watchdog Ofcom over Jeremy Clarkson's use of the word 'pikey', despite the BBC Trust having previously cleared the show.

Ofcom has launched a probe into the use of the word, used as a derogatory term for gipsies or travellers, and its potential for offence, but said today it will take no action over an expletive-laden Kanye West performance at this year's Brit awards.

The US rapper's heavily-muted performance of track All Day, broadcast after the watershed, reportedly contained more than 30 uses of the N-word and sparked 151 complaints.

Scroll down for video

Top Gear is to be investigated by media watchdog Ofcom over Jeremy Clarkson's use of the word 'pikey', despite the BBC Trust having previously cleared the show

The word, which is used as a derogatory term for gipsies or travellers, had been scrawled on a sign reading 'Pikey's Peak', and used in a joke at Richard Hammond's expense

Viewers said the censoring of the February performance, shown on a 20 second delay with the offensive words and phrases muted, left it sounding 'like Morse code', with some questioning why it ever went ahead if so much of the song had to be censored.

However, despite the muting, some viewers said they could still hear the N-word on at least three occasions, while another rapper sharing the stage with West was heard to say 's***'.

RELATED ARTICLES

Share this article

As well as complaints from the audience at home, fellow musician Lionel Richie, who attended the show, was left unimpressed, and criticised West for his use of the N-Word.

However, Ofcom said it will not be investigating the viewers' complaints.

'We received a number of complaints that Kanye West’s language, shortly after the watershed, was offensive but we will not be taking the matter forward for investigation,' said an Ofcom spokesman.

'Having carefully assessed these complaints, we noted that before the programme ITV took steps to ensure that offensive language was not used, and during the programme to mute the majority of it'.

But the watchdog is investigating the use of 'pikey' in Top Gear, where it was scrawled on a sign reading 'Pikey's Peak', and used in a joke at Richard Hammond's expense.

Ofcom said today it will take no action over an expletive-laden Kanye West performance at this year's Brit awards (pictured)

The BBC Trust backed the show, saying there had been 'no intended racist reference', but Ofcom announced today it would be investigating the episode, which was broadcast in February last year.

The complaint to Ofcom was lodged by the Traveller Movement charity, which had initially complained to the BBC Trust - and said it was 'horrified' by the resulting decision.

'Ofcom is investigating a complaint from the Travellers’ Movement that it was offensive to include a placard with "Pikey's Peak" written on it in this BBC show,' an Ofcom spokesman said.

In the episode, Clarkson had put up the placard during a challenge in which the presenters had to race 1980s hatchbacks, and he and James May were ridiculing Hammond's choice of a Vauxhall Nova.

The Ofcom investigation into whether the potential for offence caused by the use of the word 'pikey' was justified by the context began in April, after details of the BBC Trust ruling were released in March.

The BBC Trust had acknowledged that the word 'pikey' derived from 'turnpike' and so related to Travellers, but its Editorial Standards Committee said there had been ‘no intended racist reference’ by the Top Gear team.

The complaint to Ofcom over Jeremy Clarkson's use of the word was lodged by the Traveller Movement charity, who initially complained to the BBC Trust

The ruling stated: 'The committee believed the word "pikey" had evolved into common parlance among a number of people to mean "chavvy" or "cheap" and … viewers would not necessarily associate it with the Gipsy and Traveller communities.'

A spokesman from Traveller Movement told MailOnline the charity welcomed Ofcom’s decision to investigate the episode.

'The BBC Trust ruling was absurd when it ruled that the Top Gear use of the word "pikey" had nothing to do with Gipsies and Travellers and meant cheap and dodgy instead,' he said.

'Seeing as the word had been used by Clarkson and his crew in the past alongside a reference to selling pegs and heather, it is clearly the Trust that is being a bit cheap and dodgy.

'We believe in freedom of speech, but with that freedom there must be responsibility. The BBC Trust abdicated that responsibility when legitimised the use of a racist word on one of their most popular and money-spinning programmes.

'We can bang on about semantics and meanings but at the end of the day too many Gipsies and Travellers hear that word in the form of racist abuse.

'How can you work for understanding and integration when racist abuse is seen as funny by a national public broadcaster paid for by the public?

'We hope that the Ofcom investigation is thorough. This is clearly a topic that needs some attention, particularly with the often mocking and derogatory TV fascination with all things Gipsy.'

A spokesman for Top Gear declined to comment on the Ofcom investigation.

It is not the first time the controversial motoring show - and its former presenters - have run into trouble.

Clarkson had to apologise when unscreened footage emerged of him mumbling the n-word while reciting the children's nursery rhyme 'eeny, meeny, miny, moe' to choose between two cars and the show was also censured by Ofcom for breaching broadcasting rules after Clarkson used a 'racial' term when he said: 'That is a proud moment, but there's a slope on it', as a man walked towards them on their makeshift bridge over the River Kwai during the programme's Burma special.

Last year ended with the motoring show's crew forced to flee Argentina when it emerged they were using a Porsche with the registration number H982 FKL, which some people suggested could refer to the Falklands conflict of 1982.

Clarkson has left the show after the BBC allowed his contract to run down after an internal investigation found he attacked show producer Oisin Tymon (pictured) in an unprovoked assault

Clarkson left the show after the BBC allowed his contract to run down following an internal investigation which found he attacked show producer Oisin Tymon in an unprovoked assault at a north Yorkshire hotel.

An official report found that the 54-year-old presenter punched Mr Tymon in the mouth before being dragged away by a witness, causing the producer to go to A&E for emergency treatment.

He also verbally abused him for 20 minutes, blaming Mr Tymon for failing to ensure that he could get a steak at the hotel.

Mr Clarkson was suspended as Top Gear presenter as soon as news of the fight came to light.

Following weeks of speculation, the BBC announced that it would not renew his contract after the internal report was released on March 24.

Lord Hall, the director-general of the corporation, said Clarkson had 'crossed the line' and that 'there cannot be one rule for one and one rule for another'.

His co-stars, Hammond and May, are believed to have also left the show, along with producer Andy Wilman, and are expected to launch a rival show with another broadcaster.

It has been reported that the BBC is lining up a 'dream team' of new presenters, including model Jodie Kidd, Life on Mars actor Philip Glenister and Channel 4 presenter Guy Martin.

COURTING CONTROVERSY: THE MOMENTS TOP GEAR LANDED IN HOT WATER

December 2005: Jeremy Clarkson sparked complaints when he gave a Nazi salute while discussing the German-made BMW Mini.

April 2007: During a scathing review of the Perodua Kelisa, made in Malaysia, Clarkson described the car as the 'worst in the world' and implied it had been built by 'jungle people who wear leaves as shoes'.

July 2008: Clarkson is ticked off by BBC Trust bosses for drinking a gin and tonic while driving a truck in the Polar Special episode which aired in July 2007. Despite arguments from the producers that Clarkson and James May, who was also drinking in the cab, were not drunk and the footage was filmed in 'international waters' and therefore drink-driving laws did not apply, the BBC Trust ruled that the scenes 'could be seen to glamorise the misuse of alcohol'.

In November 2008, Clarkson was criticised for joking about lorry drivers killing prostitutes

November 2008: Clarkson was criticised for joking about lorry drivers killing prostitutes in what was believed to be a reference to Yorkshire Ripper Peter Sutcliffe. He had said: 'Change gear, change gear, change gear, check mirror, murder a prostitute, change gear, change gear, murder. That’s a lot of effort in a day.' Ofcom received more 500 complaints, but said the remark did not breach of the broadcasting code.

July 2010: In a discussion about women distracting drivers, Clarkson said: 'Honestly, the burka doesn’t work. I was in a cab in Piccadilly the other day when a woman in a full burka crossing the road in front of me tripped over the pavement, went head over heels and up it came, red g-string and stockings.'

August 2010: Clarkson described a Ferrari as 'special needs' and a 'simpleton' during a bad review, sparking an official complaint from the National Autistic Society.

February 2011: Mocking the Mexican Mastretta sports car, May introduced the car as 'The Tortilla', before Richard Hammond stated: 'Cars reflect national characteristics... a Mexican car's just going to be a lazy, feckless, flatulent oaf with a moustache, leaning against a fence asleep, looking at a cactus with a blanket with a hole in the middle on as a coat'. Clarkson ended the segment by suggesting that the Mexican ambassador to Britain would be too lazy to make any kind of complaint - which prompted ambassador, Eduardo Medina Mora, to write to the BBC, complaining that the presenters 'resorted to outrageous, vulgar and inexcusable insults to stir bigoted feelings against the Mexican people'. The BBC defended the jokes, but apologised to the ambassador for the remarks made about him.

In July last year, Ofcom ruled Clarkson had 'deliberately employed' the word 'slope' to refer to an Asian man seen crossing this bridge during the show's Burma special

March 2014: The show's Burma special airs, including when Clarkson's described a makeshift bridge over the River Kwai saying: 'That is a proud moment, but there's a slope on it', as a man walked towards them. The following month, executive producer Andy Wilman says he 'regrets' use of the word 'slope' being broadcast but insisted it was 'light-hearted wordplay'. In July, Ofcom rules Clarkson had 'deliberately employed the offensive word to refer to the Asian person' and said there was 'insufficient context to justify the broadcast of this material'.

May 2014: In unaired footage, Clarkson was heard reciting the rhyme 'eeny, meeny, miny, mo' before apparently muttering 'catch a n***** by his toe'. He apologises, and says it was 'inevitable' the BBC would eventually sack him but ‘begged’ for public forgiveness after the footage was aired.

October 2014: The Top Gear crew are forced to leave Argentina after being confronted by an angry mob, furious that Clarkson's Porsche was using the number plate HK982 FKL, apparently referring to the Falklands War.

March 2015: It is announced that Clarkson's Top Gear contract will not be renewed after he attacked show producer Oisin Tymon in an unprovoked assault at a north Yorkshire hotel. An official report found that the 54-year-old presenter punched Mr Tymon in the mouth before being dragged away by a witness, causing the producer to go to A&E for emergency treatment. He also verbally abused him for 20 minutes, blaming Mr Tymon for failing to ensure that he could get a steak at the hotel. Mr Clarkson was suspended as Top Gear presenter as soon as news of the fight came to light. Following weeks of speculation, the BBC announced that it would not renew his contract after the internal report was released on March 24. Lord Hall, the director-general of the corporation, said Clarkson had 'crossed the line' and that 'there cannot be one rule for one and one rule for another'.