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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Politics
Ben Glaze

Clarkson's Farm star heads to No10 for food prices crisis talks with Rishi Sunak

Clarkson's Farm star Kaleb Cooper attended a crunch Downing Street food summit hosted by Rishi Sunak today.

The TV farmer, along with "Cheerful" Charlie Ireland, Jeremy Clarkson's land agent and advisor, was welcomed into No10 for the Prime Minister’s Farm to Fork conference, alongside supermarket bosses, industry chiefs and Whitehall officials.

Kaleb, 24, became famous for his blunt put downs to Jeremy Clarkson on the hit Amazon Prime show.

More used to sitting aboard tractors rolling across the Oxfordshire countryside and around Clarkson’s 1,000-acre Diddly Squat holding, Kaleb took his seat at the summit aimed at boosting production and slashing shelf prices for hard-up families.

Rishi Sunak’s spokesman said: “He was in and obviously that programme has been important in raising some of the issues that farmers face.

“Some of the policies set out today will support the farming sector.”

The PM said: "I will always back British farmers, and I pay tribute to their hard work and dedication all year round which keeps shelves stocked and food on our tables.

"Supporting our farmers and food producers must, and always will be, at the heart of our plans to grow the economy and build a more prosperous country.

"That's why I'm proud to host this summit, and working together, I'm determined to build resilience, strengthen our food security and champion the best of British at home and overseas."No10 said the PM used the summit to “make the point that supporting the countryside, supporting farmers is not simply seeking to hark back to the past or more rural Britain - it’s vital to everyone in the UK both in terms of food security, growing the economy and creating more jobs”.

Mr Sunak earlier told the Cabinet the event focused “on how government and industry can best work together for a thriving food sector here in the UK”, his spokesman said.

“He said this was not about some nostalgic vision of the UK’s rural past”, the spokesman added.

Clarkson used a recent Sunday Times column to reveal his "last roll of the dice" as he faces financial worries over the future of Diddly Squat, in the Cotswolds.

The presenter wrote: "On top of the physical issues, which will only get worse, there are financial problems too. And they're going to get worse as well.

"Because the grants and subsidies that I used to get from the EU, to recompense me for selling food at a loss, are dwindling until, in three years' time, they will dry up completely. These, then, are troubling times, because what am I to do?

"Farming hurts my back and my knees, and if I attempt to use my land to grow food, I'll lose money. It has been causing me some sleepless nights, that's for sure."

Environment Secretary Therese Coffey said newly-announced measures, including a £30million investment in new technologies, were about putting "more British produce on supermarket shelves and plates".

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