Jeremy Clarkson, 64, struggled to hide his disdain for the BBC during today’s farmers’ protests in Westminster, especially when he was put on the spot by Newsnight’s Victoria Derbyshire.
The Clarkson’s Farm star, who runs Diddly Squat Farm in Oxfordshire, joined thousands of farmers on the streets of the capital in protest against the government’s proposed tax measures on the farming world.
The so-called “tractor tax” will put a stop to the inheritance tax exemption that has helped family farms pass through generations and from 2026, farmers with land worth more than £1 million will no longer be able to leave their farms to their children tax-free.
Clarkson has been a vocal opponent of the proposals from the get-go, branding the Labour government “hopeless” and even sarcastically claiming Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and Chancellor Rachel Reeves have a “sinister” plan to “ethnically cleanse the countryside of farmers”.
On Tuesday, despite being ordered by doctors to rest following a recent heart operation, Clarkson joined forces with thousands of his fellow farmers to urge the government to rethink its decision and took to the stage to address those in attendance.
During an impassioned speech, Clarkson fumed at the BBC for being the “mouthpiece” for the Labour government and he was similarly scathing when Derbyshire grabbed him for a chat while among the crowds.
“Why are you here, Mr Clarkson?” Derbyshire kicked off, to which Clarkson simply replied: “I’m here to support farmers.”
Clarkson was then asked if he was “angry”, to which he explained: “It’s difficult to be angry on somebody else’s behalf… No, I’m not angry on somebody else’s behalf.”
Derbyshire then got a rise out of the former Top Gear star as she quizzed: “Right, so it’s not about you, it’s not about your farm and the fact you bought a farm to avoid inheritance tax?”
Clarkson chuckled as he hit back: “Classic BBC that, classic – oh yeah. It’s not the fact – the fact! – that I brought a farm to avoid inheritance tax… the fact.”
WATCH HERE: Jeremy Clarkson delivers passionate speech at farmers’ rally in London
Derbyshire then brought up a Sunday Times article from 2021 in which Clarkson allegedly made the claims, to which the Grand Tour host chuckled.
“You people… the BBC…” Clarkson said under his breath before he set the record straight: “Okay, let’s start from the beginning. I wanted to shoot.
“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 as long as I live for seven years that’s fine. And as my daughter says, ‘You will live for seven years, you’ll be in a deep freeze by the end of it but you will live for seven years’.
“But it’s incredibly time-consuming to have to do that. So why should all these people have to do that? Why should they?”
Derbyshire attempted to outline the government’s argument: “So one of the reasons Rachel Reeves has brought this in is to stop wealthy people using -“
“That was the only reason she did,” Clarkson interrupted before Derbyshire argued: “No, the other reason was to raise money for public services.”
“Are you listening to this?” Clarkson said with derision to the nearby crowd as he laughed and rolled his eyes before Derbyshire tried to catch him out by asking if he’d tried to get a GP appointment lately.
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Clarkson plainly informed her of his recent heart attack which led to a floundering Derbyshire to ask: “So where should they get the money from if it’s not from farmers?”
Turning to the crowd again, Clarkson yelled: “You hear that everyone? Even she thinks you should be paying for everything.
“Okay, do you know how many people pay inheritance tax in this country?” he said as he turned back to Derbyshire. “Four percent pay inheritance tax. 96 percent of the population of the UK does not pay inheritance tax. After this becomes law, 96 percent of farmers will.”
When asked where he got the figure from, Clarkson once again used the crowd of attendees to his advantage, taking a head count of those who claimed they wouldn’t be affected by the measures.
Derbyshire asked him again to which he curtly replied: “96 percent? Well, the same place that 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.”
The Newsnight host tried to defend her line of questioning: “I am not expressing opinions, I’m literally asking you questions, you know that, Mr Clarkson.”
Clarkson began to laugh once again but when asked what his final “message to the government” was, he had a simple response: “Please back down. Please.”
With that, Clarkson made his way away from Derbyshire and the surrounding reporters.
