Jeremy Clarkson attacks BBC as he joins farm protest in London

Jeremy Clarkson became frustrated with a BBC interviewer as she questioned him on his motivation for opposing inheritance tax changes for farmers. The former BBC Top Gear presenter called on Labour to "back down" over its now inheritance tax policy as he joined tens of thousands of farmers from across the UK at a mass protest in London. Hundreds of Welsh farmers have joined the protest taking place in central London.

The 64-year-old said he had defied the advice of his doctors to "avoid stress" as he recovers from a life-saving heart operation - while his Clarkson's Farm co-stars Kaleb Cooper and Charlie Ireland joined him. You can follow the protest live here.

He was quizzed by Newsnight presenter Victoria Derbyshire about his own reasons for opposing the tax, which he told the Times newspaper in 2021, was influenced by his desire for his children not to pay inheritance tax. She said: "So it's not about you, your farm and to avoid inheritance tax?"

He replied: "Typical BBC. You people ... That's actually quite funny because the real reason I bought the farm was because I wanted to shoot, so I thought if I told a bunch of people that I bought a farm so I could shoot pheasants it might look bad.

He told the PA news agency: "I'm here to support the farmers, it's that simple, because they need all the help they can get really, even from me."

Speaking to reporters ahead of the protest, has said that Chancellor Rachel Reeves had used a 'blunderbuss' to hit the agricultural sector.

He said he opposed the tax changes, adding: "If she'd have wanted to take out the likes of James Dyson and investment bankers and so on, she would have used a sniper's rifle, but she's used a blunderbuss and she's hit all this lot.

"It was - as I understand it - it was a very rushed last-minute decision and I think we all make mistakes in life, and I think it's time for them to say 'you know what, we've cocked this one up a bit' and back down." For the latest Welsh news delivered to your inbox sign up to our newsletter

'So, I thought I better come up with another excuse, so I said inheritance tax. I actually didn't know about inheritance tax until after I bought it. I didn't mind, obviously, but the real reason I bought it is because I wanted to shoot.

Environment Secretary Steve Reed has insisted that only a few hundred farms would be impacted, rather than the tens of thousands claimed by critics of the inheritance tax change.

He told the PA news agency: "The Government's been very clear: about 500 farms will be affected and the vast majority of farms will pay nothing more under the new scheme.

"That figure has been validated now by the independent Office for Budget Responsibility and by the independent financial think tank the IFS.

"There are all sorts of other figures flying around that I don't recognise. If farmers look at the facts they will see the vast majority of them will pay nothing more under the new scheme than they did under the old scheme."

In February, thousands of farmers left their farms to protest en masse in Cardiff Bay. The trigger point then was the sustainable farming scheme, the successor scheme announced by Welsh Government for post-Brexit subsidies. There was anger that included a requirement for farmers to make at least 10% of each farm be under tree cover or managed as habitat, that was unviable for many farmers, they said.

There was ongoing concern about TB rates, and Nitrate Vulnerable Zones (NVZ) zones too. These latest protests are about changes announced by Labour UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves, which many Welsh farmers say have been based on incorrect figures and will mean they lose hundreds of thousands of pounds.

For the Welsh Government, this latest row comes at a bad time. After mass protests here in Wales earlier in the year, there has been a rethink of the sustainable farming scheme, which will be revealed next week at the Winter Fair at the Royal Welsh showground.

Neither the UK nor Welsh Government is able to give a number for how many farms are impacted in Wales. Immediately after the Budget, First Minister Eluned Morgan told plenary it was a "very very small" number and we asked for clarification. The Welsh Government referred us to the Treasury which admitted it does not have regional figures.

When we later asked Huw Irranca-Davies, the rural affairs and climate change minister in Wales, he said the numbers had been "extrapolated".