Jeremy Clarkson is facing criticism again - this time over controversial Vladimir Putin comment

It was only last week that former Top Gear presenter Jeremy Clarkson apparently ‘spoke for millions’ by saying the UK’s departure from the European Union “hasn’t made our lives better in any way that I can see”, but now people are back disliking the Clarkson’s Farm star after he said he’d “welcome” Russian president Vladimir Putin as UK prime minister over Keir Starmer.

Following up on his previous Sunday Times column, Clarkson penned an article this week claiming “the world will end when weird Gen Z take charge”, citing polling commissioned by the Times which revealed only 41 per cent of Generation Z surveyed said they were happy to say they were British, and the same percentage wouldn’t fight for their country in a war.

Clarkson agreed with that percentage and said: “Right now, I’d do nothing to stop an invasion because, apart from that DRC child slavery enthusiast, Bosco Ntaganda, I’d take any world leader over the imbecile we have now.

“[US president Donald] Trump, [Italian prime minister Giorgia] Meloni, even Putin; I’d welcome any one of them with open arms.”

The comments have shocked and appalled people on social media, with one writing that the stance “tells you everything” about Clarkson:

Another claimed the stance was because “he doesn’t want to pay inheritance tax on the farm he brought [sic] to avoid paying taxes”, referencing previous articles from Clarkson in which he said he bought a farm because “the government doesn’t get any of my money when I die” and that avoiding inheritance tax was “the critical thing” in that decision:

And a third made the pretty important point that life under a dictatorship isn’t exactly cosy:

Clarkson has been a vocal critic of Starmer’s premiership since chancellor Rachel Reeves announced changes to inheritance tax on agricultural land last year, even attending protests which have since led to one Conservative politician saying the broadcaster would be “welcome in the Tory party”.

Why not read…

• Who has Jeremy Clarkson banned from his pub?
• Jeremy Clarkson claims Labour is ‘ethnically cleansing’ farmers

Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter

How to join the indy100's free WhatsApp channel

Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.