Top Gear presenter Jeremy Clarkson appeared to be back on provocative form as he hinted on stage that he expects the BBC to sack him.

Speaking at a fundraising event in London on Thursday night, Clarkson joked with the audience as he said: "I don't know when I did my last lap of the Top Gear test track", adding he'll do a last lap "before the f***ing b******s sack me."

Amid laughter and applause the presenter apparently repeated the claim which was caught on camera.

The BBC has not commented but said on Thursday afternoon that director general Tony Hall is to be given a dossier on the matter next week and will subsequently make a decision.

Earlier, a BBC executive suggested Clarkson's co-hosts James May and Richard Hammond had been offered the chance to finish this season's Top Gear shows but had refused to do so.

They "didn't want to do it without Jeremy", the executive was reported as saying.

Clarkson was suspended from the show earlier this month after allegedly punching a producer over a row about the lack of a hot meal at a hotel following a day's filming.

Both Clarkson and producer Oisin Tymon have now given their evidence to an inquiry set up to investigate the matter.

The show makes millions of pounds for the BBC and, while some at the corporation are believed to want the presenter off Top Gear, he has a strong fan base, with almost a million people signing a petition for his reinstatement.

The petition will be delivered to BBC offices by The Stig from the TV show.

Meanwhile, Clarkson's co-hosts May and Hammond have been tweeting about what they have been doing on their enforced days off.

May revealed his empathy with the unemployed as he wrote: 

Seriously, if you really are unemployed, good luck to you. It's not funny in reality.

— James May (@MrJamesMay) March 18, 2015

I've been given some heavy gardening work today. Temptation to cut my own head off with the chainsaw may prove too strong. #StillUnemployed

— James May (@MrJamesMay) March 20, 2015

Richard Hammond tweeted a picture of his dog and said: "Not trying to be cryptic, just enjoying a gorgeous morning. Off."

Dog Fog Job's in the ... ...holding pattern. Not trying to be cryptic, just enjoying a gorgeous morning. Off. pic.twitter.com/zM8IGyHTgk

— Richard Hammond (@RichardHammond) March 18, 2015