Top Gear's Jeremy Clarkson apologises after posting ‘gay c**t’ picture on Twitter

The famously acerbic TV personality then shared the image on his Twitter account alongside the caption: "Sadly, I fell asleep on the plane."

The presenter, who is thought to be a friend of the Prime Minister, told his followers on the micro-blogging site that he was thinking of standing as an independent at the next general election. (Getty)

In perhaps the least shocking news ever, Jeremy Clarkson has been forced to apologise for offending an entire group of people.

The Top Gear presenter came under fire for posting an image of himself asleep on a plane next to a piece of white paper with the words ‘gay c**t’ scrawled onto it.

Clarkson’s co-host James May can be seen smiling away in the background as the practical joke was played.

The famously acerbic TV personality then shared the image on his Twitter account alongside the caption: "Sadly, I fell asleep on the plane."

After attracting a barrage of protesting tweets, the 53-year-old removed the message, posting instead: "I have deleted my last tweet and would like to apologise profusely to anyone who I upset while I was asleep."

However, it is unclear whether Clarkson posted the picture himself, or whether that too was a practical joke played by his ‘hilarious’ Top Gear co-stars.

This wouldn’t be the first time Clarkson has been branded "homophobic". George Michael hit out at the presenter after he allegedly made a derogatory comment about the former Wham! singer live on air.

The picture that sparked a barrage of criticism, before it was promptly deleted.

Clarkson’s Twitter account was taken over by hackers last year. But his response to said hackers attracted even more criticism. Probably because, paraphrasing Liam Neeson’s character in Taken, he threatened to "kill" them.