Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

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

Heather Saul
Saturday 21 March 2015 10:23 GMT
Comments
Jeremy Clarkson attends A Night Of Heroes: The Sun Military Awards at National Maritime Museum on December 10, 2014 in London, England.
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)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

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***?”

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in