At yesterdays Westminster protest Jeremy Clarkson and Victoria Derbyshire got into a heated-up discussion about farm inheritance taxes. The BBC-Two Newsnight interview quickly turned into a back-and-forth about Clarksons motives for owning his farm
I am not expressing opinions. I am literally asking questions. You know that‚ Mr Clarkson
The discussion moved to public services funding when Derbyshire brought up GP appointments‚ Clarkson responded that he “just recently had a heart attack“; leading to debate about tax-policy choices. He criticized the Chancellorʼs ideas‚ comparing them to “sixth form debating society“ thinking
Speaking to roughly 10‚000 protestors (most of whom indicated theyd be affected by new rules)‚ Clarkson questioned BBCʼs position: “Since when was the BBC the mouthpiece of this infernal government“
The situation links back to Clarksons previous comments from late-21 about buying his 1‚000-acre Diddly Squat farm‚ where he mentioned tax benefits as a key factor. His relationship with BBC has been rocky since 2015 when he left Top Gear after a dispute with a producer
- No hot food at hotel
- Producer confrontation
- Contract termination
Since then‚ hes been critical of his ex-employer saying “If I ran the BBC it would be better; I would make programmes for everybody not just seven people in Islington“