A heated exchange erupted on GB News as former Labour MP Stephen Pound criticised Jeremy Clarkson's appearance at yesterday's farmers' protest in London, whilst broadcaster Mike Parry defended the TV presenter's contribution to British agriculture.
Pound claimed Clarkson "made a bit of a fool of himself" during the demonstration, which saw thousands of farmers gather in Westminster to protest against planned inheritance tax changes.
The clash came after Clarkson's appearance at the rally, where he addressed crowds of approximately 10,000 people and engaged in a tense interview with BBC's Victoria Derbyshire.
The former Top Gear host had joined farmers to oppose Chancellor Rachel Reeves' planned tax reforms, which will affect agricultural landowners from March 2026.
Stephen Pound told GB News: "I thought Jeremy Clarkson made a bit of a fool of himself when he was going on about, I can't even use the language he used on the stage, how he was incapable of being coherent because he was on codeine and paracetamol. Then he got into a row with Victoria Derbyshire."
Mike Parry fumed: "He's done more for farming in the last couple of years..." Pound interrupted: "You honestly think so?"
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Parry argued: "Jeremy Clarkson has suddenly raised the profile of the farmers and what they do.
"The other thing I simply don't understand is that even today, now we've got inflation going up.
"One of the reasons for that is because of the rain in Spain, which means that food's going up.
"Don't they understand about food security in this country? We've got to have food security. And that's what farmers give us."
Addressing the crowd, Clarkson challenged the suggestion that only a few farms would be affected by asking farmers to raise their hands if they believed they would be impacted.
The farmers' protest was sparked by proposed changes to inheritance tax affecting agricultural landowners, set to take effect from March 2026.
Under the new rules, farms worth more than £1 million will face a 20 per cent inheritance tax on value above this threshold, replacing the previous full exemption.
The Treasury estimates around 500 estates annually will be affected, stating that nearly three-quarters of farms would be exempt from the new rules.
However, the National Farmers' Union (NFU) argues that 66 per cent of farm businesses in England are worth more than £1 million, according to Defra figures.
NFU president Tom Bradshaw highlighted that despite high asset values, farming income is often low, meaning families might need to sell land to pay the tax.
The Government says the changes are necessary to address a £22 billion budget gap left by the previous administration.
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Pound claimed Clarkson "made a bit of a fool of himself" during the demonstration, which saw thousands of farmers gather in Westminster to protest against planned inheritance tax changes.
The clash came after Clarkson's appearance at the rally, where he addressed crowds of approximately 10,000 people and engaged in a tense interview with BBC's Victoria Derbyshire.
The former Top Gear host had joined farmers to oppose Chancellor Rachel Reeves' planned tax reforms, which will affect agricultural landowners from March 2026.
Stephen Pound told GB News: "I thought Jeremy Clarkson made a bit of a fool of himself when he was going on about, I can't even use the language he used on the stage, how he was incapable of being coherent because he was on codeine and paracetamol. Then he got into a row with Victoria Derbyshire."
Mike Parry fumed: "He's done more for farming in the last couple of years..." Pound interrupted: "You honestly think so?"
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Parry argued: "Jeremy Clarkson has suddenly raised the profile of the farmers and what they do.
"The other thing I simply don't understand is that even today, now we've got inflation going up.
"One of the reasons for that is because of the rain in Spain, which means that food's going up.
"Don't they understand about food security in this country? We've got to have food security. And that's what farmers give us."
Addressing the crowd, Clarkson challenged the suggestion that only a few farms would be affected by asking farmers to raise their hands if they believed they would be impacted.
The farmers' protest was sparked by proposed changes to inheritance tax affecting agricultural landowners, set to take effect from March 2026.
Under the new rules, farms worth more than £1 million will face a 20 per cent inheritance tax on value above this threshold, replacing the previous full exemption.
The Treasury estimates around 500 estates annually will be affected, stating that nearly three-quarters of farms would be exempt from the new rules.
However, the National Farmers' Union (NFU) argues that 66 per cent of farm businesses in England are worth more than £1 million, according to Defra figures.
NFU president Tom Bradshaw highlighted that despite high asset values, farming income is often low, meaning families might need to sell land to pay the tax.
The Government says the changes are necessary to address a £22 billion budget gap left by the previous administration.
Find Out More...