The policing minister has defended the government's decision to impose Inheritance Tax on farms worth over £1 million. Diana Johnson said the Labour government have had to make "difficult decisions" after inheriting a "£22 billion blackhole in the public finances" when they came to power in July. It comes as thousands of farmers are set to converge in Westminster on Tuesday to protest against the changes to Inheritance Tax announced in last month's budget.
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00:00I understand that there's very strong feeling and there's a big protest in Westminster today.
00:05The farmers are absolutely within their rights to come and protest and to make their views clear to MPs
00:11and that lobbying will be going ahead.
00:13Clearly the Labour government when it came into power in July found that £22 billion black hole in the public finances
00:21and really difficult decisions have had to be made.
00:23It's also worth saying that £5 billion is going into farming over the next two years
00:28and the number of farms that will be affected by the changes the Chancellor announced is quite small, around 500
00:34and there are plans to help with any payment of inheritance tax that's due to extend it over 10 years interest free at a lower rate.
00:44So I think that's the package that the Chancellor has put together in difficult circumstances.