SKY News have egg on their face after a live blunder appeared to suggest farmers would launch full-on military missiles at forthcoming protests.
Large demonstrations by farmers are expected in London on Tuesday as they fight to reverse “absolutely unacceptable” changes to inheritance tax.
Reporting on this development, Sky News – however – paired it with a clip of missiles being launched into the sky.
What are the farmers planning?!?!!
— Scott Bryan (@scottygb.bsky.social) 18 November 2024 at 11:15
[image or embed]
“A hell of a series of Clarkson's Farm on its way,” said one BlueSky user.
“I knew there must've been an ulterior motive for keeping as much fertiliser as they do,” said another.
One user suggested: “Possibly an overreaction to the inheritance tax issue.”
The National Farmers’ Union (NFU) is holding a mass lobby of MPs with 1800 of its members – three times as many people as originally planned – to urge backbenchers to stand up to the Government’s plans to impose inheritance tax on farms worth more than £1 million.
And thousands more are expected to join a separate rally in Whitehall as they protest against last month’s Budget, which also sped up the phase out of EU-era subsidies as funding is switched to nature-friendly farming schemes.
Celebrities including TV presenter and farmer Jeremy Clarkson – who told the Times in 2021 that avoiding inheritance tax was “critical” in his decision to buy land – are expected to join the rally.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here