Cotswold-based TV presenter turned farmer, Jeremy Clarkson, is calling on the Government to make farming a higher priority.

Speaking on his social media, Jeremy Clarkson said: "We've been asked to diversify and, when we try to do that, the local authorities tell us we can't! That needs addressing."

In subsequent tweets, he went on to say: "You can live without heat and clothing. But you cannot live without food. Please support British farming.

"What we must understand is that the grants farmers got for growing food are going. And we need food."

The prime minister, Boris Johnson, responded to Clarkson in his own video on social media, in which he said: "I hope you've had a chance to look at our food strategy. A lot of that is about backing British farming, backing our own domestic food production, eating more of what we grow here. And of course growing much more [of what we eat].

"What we want to do is back farmers in all sorts of ways, particularly making sure they have access to the labour they need, but also supporting them when it comes to things like their fuel costs, their fertiliser costs, but supporting them also with innovation. We're putting a lot of money into new technology.

"But what we want to do particularly is ensure that when farmers want to develop their property, is make sure that computer does not say no, and we help farmers make the most of their crops and their land."

Former Top Gear presenter, Jeremy Clarkson, became an unlikely farmer when he starred in his own series Clarkson's Farm on Amazon. The show followed his attempts to graze livestock and grow crops on his farm, Diddly Squat.