Jeremy Clarkson has lifted the lid on his true motivation for buying a farm, saying he thought it would be “a better PR story if I said I bought it to avoid paying taxes.”

The man behind Clarkson’s Farm, the hit Amazon Prime TV series, defied doctors’ orders to protest the Labor government’s changes to agricultural inheritance tax on Tuesday, taking to the streets of London alongside thousands of other farmers.

Clarkson told The Times in 2021 that avoiding inheritance tax was “the main thing” in his decision to buy land. He also wrote in an article on the Top Gear website in 2010: “I bought a farm. There are many valid reasons for this: Land is a better investment than any bank can offer. The government doesn’t get any of my money when I die. And the price of the food I grow can only go up. »

Responding to the comments in a new interview with The Times, the former Top Gear presenter said: “I never admitted why I actually bought it.

“I wanted to do a shoot – I was very naive. I just thought it would be a better PR story if I said I bought it to avoid paying taxes.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced that combined business and agricultural assets worth more than £1 million would be subject to 50% inheritance tax relief at an effective rate of 20% from April 2025.

This is a departure from Agricultural Property Relief (APR), a policy designed to reduce the tax burden faced by farmers to reduce the likelihood of selling their income sources to cover costs. Assets worth less than £1 million will still not have to pay inheritance tax.

Although he strongly opposes the tax changes, Clarkson told the newspaper he did not want to be the public face of the movement, saying, “It should be farmer-led.” »

He said he doesn’t consider himself a farmer, but believes his job is to “report on agriculture” and highlight rural poverty in the sector.

“One of the problems we have on the show is we don’t show poverty either, because obviously on Diddly Squat there’s no poverty,” he explained.

“But believe me, there is absolute poverty. I am surrounded by farmers. I’m not going out to dinner with James Dyson. These are people who own 200 or 400 acres. Way beyond Rachel Reeves’ threshold. They are fucking. »

Clarkson was also asked if he would consider going into politics – to which he replied: “I would be a terrible political leader, no hope.”

“I’m a journalist at heart, I prefer to throw stones at people rather than have them thrown at me.”

Friday, Sir Keir Starmer insisted his government stood by farmers and pensioners as it faced questions over tax reforms and the decision to limit winter fuel payments to only the poorest pensioners.

The Prime Minister declared BBC Bristol: “We are for workers who need to be better off and who have really struggled in recent years.

“We are for everyone who wants and needs to rely on the NHS, which is on its knees, and we must and we will lift it up and reduce these waiting lists.

“We are for people who absolutely need a safe and secure place to live at a price they can afford. All this must be paid for.

“We are also for farmers and retirees.”

He also reiterated his position that the vast majority of farms will be “absolutely unaffected” by changes to agricultural inheritance tax.