Victoria Derbyshire clashed with Jeremy Clarkson as thousands of farmers protested in Westminster against changes to inheritance tax announced in last month’s Budget.
The Newsnight presenter grilled the former Top Gear star, who now runs Diddly Squat farm in Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire.
Clarkson told The Times in 2021 that avoiding inheritance tax was “critical” to his decision to buy it.
Under the inheritance tax changes unveiled by Rachel Reeves last month, farms worth more than £1 million will become liable for the charge, albeit at the reduced rate of 20%.
On Whitehall this morning, Clarkson told Derbyshire he was there “to support farmers”.
She then asked: “So it’s not about your farm and the fact that you bought a farm to avoid inheritance tax?”
A clearly-irritated Clarkson said that was “classic BBC”, but Derbyshire hit back: “You told the Sunday Times in 2021 that was why you bought it.”
Shaking his head, Clarkson said: “You people ... BBC. OK, let’s start from the beginning. I wanted to shoot, OK? That’s even worse, to the BBC, I wanted to shoot. Which comes with the benefit of not having to pay inheritance tax. Now I do.
“But people like me will simply put it in a trust, and so long as I live for seven years, that’s fine. And as my daughter said, you will live for seven years. You might be in a deep freeze at the end of it, but you will live for seven years.
“But it’s incredibly time consuming to have to do that, and why should all these people have to do that?”
When Derbyshire told him one the government was changing the rules to raise more money for public services, Clarkson turned to the crowd and said: “Are you listening to this?”
The Newsnight presenter then asked him: “Have you tried to get a GP appointment recently?”
After Clarkson said he had because he recently had a heart attack, Derbyshire asked him where the government should get the money instead.
He replied: “Do you know how many people pay inheritance tax in this country?”
When Derbyshire said it was 4% of estates, Clarkson said: “96% of the population of the UK does not pay inheritance tax. After this becomes law, 96% of farmers will.”
The government insists that 73% of farmers will be unaffected by the changes.
Derbyshire asked him: “Where have you got that figure from?”
Clarkson said: “The same place where Rachel Reeves does. From the middle of her head. From the Sixth Form debating society that she was no doubt a member of. Which formed her opinions and yours.”
Derbyshire told him: “I am not expressing opinions, I am literally asking you questions. You know that, Mr Clarkson.”
After he called on the government to “please back down”, Derbyshire asked Clarkson where they should find the money from.
He replied: “Walk into any of the offices round here. If you don’t understand what somebody’s job is, fire them.”
Tom Bradshaw, president of the National Farmers’ Union, told the protest that the government had “betrayed” his members.
“To launch a policy this destructive without speaking to anyone involved in farming beggars belief,” he said.
“And let us remember that they promised not to do this when they were wooing the rural vote. It’s not only been bungled in delivery, it’s also nothing short of a stab in the back.”
In a joint-statement ahead of today’s protest, the chancellor and rural affairs secretary Steve Reed insisted there would be no U-turn on the measures set out in the Budget.
They said: “With public services crumbling and a £22 billion fiscal hole that this government inherited, we have taken difficult decisions.
“The reforms to agricultural property relief ensure that wealthier estates and the most valuable farms pay their fair share to invest in our schools and health services that farmers and families in rural communities rely on.”