Why Jeremy Clarkson ignored doctors to join farmer protests after heart surgery
by Catherine Addison-Swan, Victoria Johns · ChronicleLiveJeremy Clarkson joined farmers protesting against the Government's new inheritance tax in Westminster - despite being told not to attend by his doctor following a heart operation.
The 64-year-old Clarkson's Farm presenter joined the crowds on Tuesday, November 19, in solidarity with his fellow farmers protesting against Labour's new taxes for farms. In October, Jeremy had a stent fitted after experiencing a "sudden deterioration" in his health that left him concerned he had suffered a heart attack.
Speaking about the rally, which other famous faces and leaders from the farming world are expected to join as a procession makes its way to Parliament Square, Clarkson shared that there were two coaches of farmers heading from his Diddly Squat farm to London to take part, The Mirror reports.
The former Top Gear presenter described it as a "hugely important issue", confirming to The Sun: "I will be there, despite having letters from doctors telling me not to go on the march and saying I must avoid stress."
Joining Clarkson were a convoy of tractors driving through Parliament Square, as farmers stage protests across the nation to call on the Government to scrap its changes to agricultural inheritance tax. More than 1,800 members of the National Farmers' Union marched on Westminster as the rally kicked off on Tuesday morning, with many more joining a separate protest in Whitehall.
Why are farmers protesting?
Farmers have reacted with anger to the inheritance tax changes for farming businesses, which limit the existing 100% relief for farms to only the first £1 million of combined agricultural and business property. Some warn they will have to sell off land to meet the costs and are threatening to strike over the pressures they say they are being put under by Government policy.
What is Jeremy Clarkson worth?
Last year, it was reported that the 63-year-old TV star had accumulated an estimated fortune of around £55 million. The former BBC host began his career modestly as a motoring journalist at the Rotherham Advertiser, but his earnings have soared since then.
Clarkson is best known for hosting motoring shows Top Gear and The Grand Tour, as well as Who Wants To Be A Millionaire. Most recently, he became a full time farmer at Diddly Squat farm, in the Cotswolds.
Jeremy Clarkson heart surgery
After returning from a holiday last month, Jeremy recounted feeling "clammy", experiencing "tightness in my chest" and "pins and needles in my left arm". After being transported to John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford by ambulance, a series of tests including an electrocardiogram (ECG), blood work and X-rays determined that he had not suffered a heart attack.
However, further assessments in the operating theatre revealed that the TV star was just "days away" from serious illness, with one artery completely blocked and another on the verge. Jeremy explained at the time: "It seems that of the arteries feeding my heart with nourishing blood, one was completely blocked and the second of three was heading that way."
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