Jeremy Clarkson faces the possibility of police action after an unprovoked attack on a colleague that has ended his career at the BBC.
The BBC's director-general Tony Hall said in a statement on Wednesday that the Top Gear presenter's attack on producer Oisin Tymon meant "a line has been crossed".
A BBC report found the 30-second attack - stopped only when a witness intervened - was accompanied by a volley of verbal abuse so loud it could be heard throughout the hotel where the program's crew were staying.
It said Tymon was left with a split lip after being struck by Clarkson and drove himself to a nearby hospital after the attack.
North Yorkshire Police have asked the BBC for its report on the incident which happened at a hotel in the county.
"The information will be assessed appropriately and action will be taken by North Yorkshire Police where necessary," police said.
Hall said: "I cannot condone what has happened on this occasion. A member of staff - who is a completely innocent party - took himself to Accident and Emergency after a physical altercation accompanied by sustained and prolonged verbal abuse of an extreme nature.
"For me a line has been crossed."
Clarkson and co-hosts James May and Richard Hammond had been due to take part in four live Top Gear shows in Norway this week, but they have been postponed.
All three men's contracts run out at the end of this month and Hammond and May's future is still unclear.
