Jeremy Clarkson walked back his previous comments about why he bought his farm, saying he thought it would be “a better PR story if I said I bought it to avoid paying taxes” .

The TV presenter and journalist defied doctors’ orders by joining thousands of farmers in London on Tuesday to protest changes to agricultural inheritance tax.

The 64-year-old, who runs Prime Video’s Clarkson’s Farm, which documents agricultural trials on his Oxfordshire land, 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 claim in a new interview with The Times, the former Top Gear presenter said: “I never admitted why I actually bought it.”

The game bird shooting enthusiast added: “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.

Clarkson was among thousands of people who took to the streets this week to protest against changes in the recent Budget to impose inheritance tax on farms worth more than £1million and he s is addressed to the crowd during the march in central London.

He told the newspaper he was not happy being the public face of the movement, saying: “It should be led by the farmers. »

Earlier this month it was confirmed that Clarkson’s Farm, which attracted widespread attention thanks to its Diddly Squat farm store, had been renewed for a fifth series.

When asked if the problem behind the tax protest was that rural poverty was hidden, Clarkson responded favorably and said his program did not help solve the situation.

“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 said.

“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. »

On the possibility of going into politics, Clarkson said: “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.”

However, he said he would “100% support any escalation” after the farmers’ march.

Clarkson revealed last month that he had undergone a heart procedure for stenting after experiencing a “sudden deterioration” in his health which caused symptoms of “clammy”, “tightness” in his chest and ” tingling” in his left. arm.

He said in a Sunday Times article that one of his arteries was “completely blocked and the second of three arteries was heading in that direction” and doctors said he may be “days away” from get very sick.

Asked if he would consider retiring, the Doncaster-born celebrity said: “Probably not. It depends when you die, I always think.

“You’d be surprised, we Northerners are made of solid stuff.”