London, Mar.26 : Veteran British actor Sir David Jason has apologised for making a 'joke' about Pakistanis live on radio.

Jason had sparked a race row after making the remarks on Absolute Radio's Christian O'Connell Breakfast Show.

The 69-year-old shocked listeners by asking: "What do you call a Pakistani cloakroom attendant? Me hat, me coat."

After a stunned silence from the presenter, the Only Fools And Horses star quickly asked a different question about Ronnie Barker.

The incident occurred at on Wednesday and the joke was promptly removed from the show's podcast on the station's website.

No apology was issued during the broadcast but the actor's spokeswoman later said he was "very sorry" and distressed that the joke may have caused offence.

But race campaigners did take offence.

Mohammed Shafiq, from the Ramadhan Foundation, was quoted by The Sun as saying: "These are inappropriate remarks about a stereotype that may have held a little water in the 50s and 60s but is not true to today. Many top jobs in this country are held by British Muslims, from lawyers, to doctors, politicians and businessmen. David Jason needs to reflect on this and learn about the wealth of jobs held by Muslims."

Mediawatch director, John Beyer, slammed his comment as inappropriate, although he said he didn't think it was intended in an offensive way.

A spokeswoman from Absolute Radio said today: "The comments made by David Jason were unacceptable and Christian O'Connell distanced himself from them live on-air by swiftly saying, 'no more jokes like that'.