Jeremy Clarkson has taken aim at Nigel Farage, accusing the Reform UK leader of throwing a “silly temper tantrum” which he claims has derailed his chances of becoming Prime Minister.
Writing in his latest column for The Sun, the 66-year-old broadcaster argued that Mr Farage’s response to recent questions surrounding Reform UK funding had been politically damaging.
Mr Clarkson claimed the row had overshadowed what he believed had previously been a strong position for the party leader.
“That’s that,” Mr Clarkson wrote.
“Nigel Farage was an absolute shoo-in to win the next general election but now, thanks to his silly temper tantrum, he’s a busted flush.”
The television presenter admitted he was unclear on the precise details behind the dispute.
“I don’t even know what it was about; not really,” he continued.
“Some journalists were asking questions about Reform party funding? It all sounded rather boring to me.”
Mr Clarkson then referenced Mr Farage’s decision to contest the upcoming Clacton by-election, where satirical candidate Count Binface has also announced he will stand.
“But then up reared Angry Nige, who says he’s going to take on the establishment by asking the voters in a seaside town to choose between him and a pedal bin,” Mr Clarkson wrote.
“And as a result of this, he has literally ensured that Britain will be governed for the next seven years by a bunch of economically illiterate Labour-ite fools.”
Mr Farage has not publicly responded to Mr Clarkson’s remarks.
Elsewhere in his column, Mr Clarkson argued that one of the biggest priorities for a future government should be reforming Britain’s police force.
The former Top Gear presenter criticised what he described as officers’ appearance and fitness, claiming police should be “fit, bright and have normal hair.”
He also suggested officers should be permitted to use “a bit of light violence” when dealing with criminals, writing that people needed to “fear them a bit” in order to restore respect for policing.
Mr Clarkson additionally mocked social media clips showing what he described as overweight officers struggling to pursue suspected shoplifters.
The broadcaster also turned his attention to environmental campaigner and television presenter Chris Packham following the naturalist’s criticism of Clarkson’s Farm during an appearance on Celebrity Gogglebox.
Mr Packham had dismissed the programme’s idyllic animated opening sequence, saying: “That’s not what a farm looks like.”
He went on to criticise modern farming, claiming: “Most farms are horrible monocultures which have been sprayed with deadly chemicals… the ground has been pumped full of fertiliser and most of the animals are indoors, in crates, being crushed and kept in the dark.”
Mr Clarkson rejected the comments, writing: “It’s bollocks.”
He added that Packham had previously visited Diddly Squat Farm in 2012 for birdwatching and foraging.
“If there had been some animals in a crate, being crushed, I’m sure he would have noticed and said something,” Mr Clarkson concluded.
