Jeremy Clarkson has joined a farmers' protest about tax changes in London saying that his comments about avoiding inheritance tax were to cover his embarrassment at wanting to shoot pheasants. 

Asked about his comments in an interview with the Times in 2021 that avoiding inheritance tax was “the critical thing” in his decision to buy land, he said: "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.

"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.”

(Image: James Manning) When asked why he'd joined the protest, he said: "I’m here to support the farmers, it’s that simple, because they need all the help they can get really, even from me," he said.

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He said he opposed the tax changes by Chancellor Rachel Reeves.

“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," he said.

“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.”