Jeremy Clarkson claims 'protest never works' as petition to reinstate the Top Gear host is handed into BBC by The Stig

The controversial presenter explains that 'we are all plankton, and the world is run by whales' in a pessimistic column

Jeremy Clarkson attends A Night Of Heroes: The Sun Military Awards at National Maritime Museum on December 10, 2014 in London, England. (Eamonn M. McCormack/Getty Images)

Jeremy Clarkson has claimed that "protest never works" as a petition calling for an end to his suspension was handed into the BBC headquarters.

The outspoken Top Gear host used his weekly column in The Sun to express his pessimism about the outcome of a BBC investigation into a ‘fracas’ involving him and producer Oisin Tymon, explaining that the world is “run by whales” and describing himself as plankton.

A petition to reinstate the 54-year-old was handed in to the Broadcasting House by The Stig after he drove through central London in a tank, an act that compelled police to issue an advisory statement.

The Change.org petition has garnered over one million signatures since it was launched by political blogger Guido Fawkes earlier in March, making it the fastest growing campaign ever hosted by the website.

But Clarkson seemed less than optimistic about what the future holds for him in his column, writing: "The simple truth of the matter is this: Protest never works. Because we are all plankton. And the world is run by whales. Oh, you can be a big and important plankton but that doesn't make a jot of difference if a whale has decided to eat you up.

"You can get a million other plankton to dress up and wave banners but Mr Whale won't even notice."

Describing how work to upgrade the London sewerage system may disrupt him after he was informed of potential plans to dig a hole outside his front door, Clarkson also appeared to refer to the uncertainty surrounding his career.

"I don't doubt it will be impossible to do any work while the site is operational but hey, maybe I won't have to," he wrote. "Watch this space."

He took to Twitter on Friday to thanks those who called for his reinstatement, saying he was “very touched” by it.

Clarkson made more controversial comments earlier this week when he joked that he would “do one last lap of that track before the f**king b**tards sack me” at a charity event in Camden.

He was filmed saying on stage: "To be in the audience of Top Gear there was an 18-year waiting list. You know the BBC has f***** themselves, and so who gives a f***?”