Jeremy Clarkson joining farmer's inheritance tax protest in London as minister slams loophole he endorsed

The minister responsible for farming in the UK has highlighted how wealthy landowners from non-farming backgrounds have purchased land in a bid to exploit inheritance tax benefits - as one admitted beneficiary, Jeremy Clarkson, prepares to lead a protest in the capital against the axing of the rule.

Large demonstrations by farmers are expected in the capital on Tuesday as they fight to reverse changes to inheritance tax, announced in Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ Budget last month, which would see farmers having to pay a 20% inheritance tax on land and property worth more than £1 million on their death - still half the standard IHT rate of 40%.

However, speaking ahead of the protests, Environment Secretary Steve Reed defended the changes as “fair and balanced”, saying it would only affect 500 estates a year and small family farms would not be hit. Writing for the Telegraph, Mr Reed said exemptions for agricultural land had led to wealthy individuals from non-farming backgrounds buying up land to avoid paying inheritance - pushing up land prices and forcing aspiring farmers out of the industry.

“It’s become the most effective way for the super-rich to avoid paying their inheritance tax – and it’s costing other taxpayers a whopping £200 million,” he added.

Among those who have benefited from the rules - and openly discussed it - is former Top Gear star Clarkson, who in 2021 told The Times the tax break was ‘critical’ in his decision to buy a 312-acre farm on the Gloucestershire/Oxfordshire border for more than £4 million in 2012.

The 64-year-old, estimated to have a fortune of £55.8 million, said: “Rather than just have money in the bank, and get a statement with numbers written on it that gives no one any pleasure at all, you could derive a great deal of pleasure and pass it on to your children.”

His purchase has since gone on to make him millions more as the setting for the hugely popular documentary series, Clarkson’s Farm. Clarkson wrote of his purchase: “Land is a better investment than any bank can offer. The Government doesn't get any of my money when I die. And the price of the food that I grow can only go up. But there is another, much more important reason: I can now have a quad bike.

“I have always loved the idea. They are like motorbikes but they don't fall over when you leave them alone, they look great and they bring a bit of civilisation to Britain's rather dreary green and brown bits.”

Another celebrity to have criticised the tax changes is Location, Location, Location star Kirsty Allsopp, who is understood to have shared a £6m inheritance from her father - Conservative Peer Lord Charles Hindlip - when he passed away. Sir James Dyson - the multi-millionaire vacuum inventor - is also understood to have bought up tens of thousands of acres of farmland in recent years.

And despite thousands being expected at Tuesday’s demonstration, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has backed Mr Reed, saying the Government had boosted funding for farming to £5bn in two years, and that “the vast majority of farms and farmers will not be affected” by the changes.

Author, Guy Shrubsole, has also used the campaign against the tax changes to highlight inequalities in land ownership in England. He said 18% of land was owned by corporations, with a further 17% bought up by oligarchs and bankers.

“Small farmers deserve all of our support – and they’re not helped by giving tax breaks to wealthy investors who’ve been snapping up farmland as a handy tax shelter, inflating the price of land and starving public services of cash,” Mr Shrubsole said.