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Jeremy Clarkson blasts plans to publish BBC salaries

Despite leaving the BBC under a rather dark cloud last year, Jeremy Clarkson has come to the defence of the corporation, branding plans to reveal the wages of stars who earn over £150k “disgusting.”

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Under new government orders, the Beeb will be forced to publish details of its big earners in a bid to improve transparency - but the former Top Gear host thinks we’re all waaaay to obsessed with money.

Well, he would say that, wouldn’t he?

“Take the business of BBC talent. What country are we living in when we want to know how much people are paid? It’s disgusting,” he told the Radio Times.

“It’s Tony Hall’s job, as the director general [of the BBC], to say, ‘We’re going to pay that person that much,’ and if we trust Tony Hall, and we must, because he’s the director general, then you trust him to be doing a good job.

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“You can’t be saying to him, ‘Why are you paying him that?’ Because if you don’t, he’ll go to ITV. It’s absolutely ludicrous.”

Until he was sacked by the BBC for assaulting Top Gear producer Oisin Tymon, 56-year-old Clarkson was thought to be earning in the region of £1m a year.

His successor Chris Evans will be one of the first stars to have his pay revealed next year - but Clarkson wishes the BBC would fight its corner a bit more and tell critics where to stick it. “I will do it on their behalf if they like,” he added.

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Now that we’d love to see.