Gobby TV presenter Jeremy Clarkson has been forced to reverse his position after he lost money after publishing his bank account details in a newspaper column.

The Top Gear presenter rather rashly published his account details in a column in The Sun to back up his claims that the child benefit data loss furore, which resulted in the loss of unencrypted CDs containing bank details of 25m people, was a lot of fuss about nothing.

Clarkson published his bank account number and sort code, along with clues to his address, insisting that the worst that could happen was that someone could pay money into his account.

Days later Clarkson was forced to admit he was wrong after an unidentified prankster set up a £500 direct debit from the presenter's account in favour of charity Diabetes UK, the BBC reports (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/7174760.stm).

"The bank cannot find out who did this because of the Data Protection Act and they cannot stop it from happening again," Clarkson said in a column published in the Sunday Times. "I was wrong and I have been punished for my mistake."

Clarkson, never one to shy away from colourful or controversial commentary, is now hopping mad over the data loss. "Contrary to what I said at the time, we must go after the idiots who lost the discs and stick cocktail sticks in their eyes until they beg for mercy," he said. ®

Related stories

Virgin Media collects customer banking details on CD, then loses it (20 June 2008)
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/06/20/virgin_media_banking_loss/
HSBC pops thousands of customer details in the post (7 April 2008)
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/04/07/hsbc_disc_loss/
Confidential Home Office data turns up in laptop on eBay (28 February 2008)
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/02/28/home_office_data_loss_encrypted_but_probably_already_lost/
EU data guardians: search engines must obey our rules (22 February 2008)
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/02/22/eu_article_29_group_hear_our_roar/
2007 worst ever year for data protection (7 January 2008)
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/01/07/lib_dems_data_losses/
Data breach officials could be sent to the big house (18 December 2007)
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/12/18/hmrc_crim_penalties/
HMRC coughs to more data losses (6 December 2007)
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/12/06/hmrc_systemic_failures/
Data breach costs soar (29 November 2007)
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/11/29/data_breach_cost_survey/
How HMRC gave away the UK's national identity (20 November 2007)
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/11/20/hmrc_huge_data_loss/
G-Wiz electro-car fracas leaves Top Gear blubbing (16 May 2007)
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/05/16/petrolhead_boris_bitch_slap/
Are you a Top Gear Tiger or an iPod Babe? (5 April 2007)
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/04/05/mobile_marketing_segments_pt1/
Top Gear back on the road (5 October 2006)
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/10/05/top_gear_lives_on/
Top Gear's Hammond in hospital (21 September 2006)
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/09/21/hammond_crashes/
Captain Cyborg issues chilling TV warning (18 February 2004)
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/02/18/captain_cyborg_issues_chilling_tv/