He punched someone who had to go to A&E as a result, the punch coming in the midst of a tirade of verbal abuse. Who of us, if subjected to the same thing for the same petty reason, would want the person to continue in their job?
@Slapshot - "this is something that could have been sorted quickly and easily"
If you'd been shouted at, verbally abused, punched and your lip cut, what would be your ideal "quick and easy" solution to that? Regardless of any press coverage, it would have been wrong for the BBC, or ANY employer, to renew his contract after that behaviour.
As for all the crybabying by Clarkson fans about how the show won't work with another presenter so they're not going to watch it any more, oh well, never mind. But the fact is that no-one yet knows what it will be like in future, it's just that a load of JC fans have already decided it won't be any good.