Jeremy Clarkson has said people in the UK “do not pay enough for their food” amid the cost-of-living crisis.
The 62-year-old broadcaster bought an Oxfordshire farm in 2008 which was run by a local villager but after he retired in 2019, Clarkson decided to see if he could run it himself.
His attempts were documented for Amazon Prime TV series Clarkson’s Farm which won plaudits for its cinematography coupled with the lovable group of staff unafraid to tell the TV presenter when he is being useless, and also charted the difficulties faced by farm workers during the Covid-19 pandemic.
The success of the series has seen visitors flock to the Diddly Squat farm shop to buy products such as Cow Juice, rapeseed oil, chutneys and jams.
Appearing on The News Agents podcast, Clarkson told presenters Emily Maitlis and Jon Sopel that he believes food prices should be double what they are.
He said: “People simply don’t pay enough for their food. The one thing a government will never say ‘oh you’ve got to pay more for your food, you don’t pay enough’.”
Maitlis, who joined the BBC in 2001 and presented Newsnight from 2006 until earlier this year, said: “So Jeremy Clarkson says prices should go up?”
Clarkson replied: “Yeah, they should. They should be double what they are, you know to get out and do that sort of work.”
His comments come after Dave Ramsden, the deputy governor of the Bank of England, gave a speech on Thursday about the uncertain and unpredictable UK economy at the Bank of England Watchers’ Conference.
He said he is “acutely conscious” that raising interest rates is adding to the hardship faced by millions of households and businesses amid the cost-of-living crisis.
Clarkson’s full interview will be available on The News Agents podcast this evening on Global Player.