Those of you carefully following the story of if Jeremy Clarkson may have actually used the "n-word" on an unaired Top Gear segment should probably take a moment and listen to Clarkson's video explanation/apology: it actually sounds completely reasonable.
In the original video The Mirror posted as part of their claim that the Top Gear host used the slur, the word in question is, at very best, mumbled. It's really hard to even tell exactly what he's saying, and were it not for the highly familiar context of the ernie-meenie choosing rhyme, I bet most wouldn't identify it as anything recognizable at all.
Clarkson explains that he deliberately did not want to say the offending word that is often included in the rhyme, so he deliberately mumbled when that word appeared. In reviewing the footage, he found this particular mumble was still too close for comfort, so he requested another take be used. Which is exactly what happened, since this footage was never actually aired.
What I get out of this is that he in no way wanted to use the n-word; it wasn't directed at anyone, it was part of a silly old nursery rhyme, and when he had the opportunity to insure that nothing even remotely sounding like the word would air, he made sure that happened. This feels like The Mirror making needless trouble.
The real lesson here? Stick to One Potato, Two Potato for your choosing-rhyme needs.