The Environment Secretary has said farmers protesting in Westminster against the Government’s inheritance tax raid are “wrong”.

Steve Reed told Parliament’s Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee that “very, very frightening” predictions about large numbers of farmers being affected by the changes were incorrect.

“Assuming these projections from HMRC, validated by the OBR and IFS, are correct then many of them, probably happily, are wrong because there are things that they can do to plan their tax affairs as most businesses or asset owners would do to limit their liability,” he said.

“The numbers I’ve heard bandied around are enormous and very, very frightening if people were to believe them.”

Mr Reed said figures being used by critics were based on Defra data on the value of farms “and then people have drawn a straight line to an inheritance tax liability, but you can’t do that, because ownership is much more complex than one person, one farm”.

It came as tens of thousands descended on the capital, including Jeremy Clarkson and Andrew Lloyd Webber, to protest against the government’s inheritance tax raid.

More snow is expected across swathes of the UK after the country experienced its “the first taste of winter…

Ukraine fired its first American long-range missiles at Russia, targeting a military facility overnight.

US-supplied Atacms missiles were used to hit an artillery depot, where North Korean ammunition was also stored, in the Bryansk border region, Ukrainian officials confirmed.

Moscow claimed its air defences intercepted five of the missiles and reported no damage.

Sergei Lavrov, Russia’s foreign minister said the strike was a clear signal the West wants to escalate the conflict, claiming it would have been “impossible” to carry out without America’s help.

Just hours after the strike, Vladimir Putin signed a law allowing a nuclear strike in response to an attack with long-range missiles.

Asked about the attack, Volodymyr Zelensky said: “We now have Atacms…we will use them.”

Their use in Bryansk contradicts reports in US media that Joe Biden had only approved such strikes in the Kursk region, which is currently occupied by Ukraine.

The US president reportedly lifted restrictions on Ukraine’s use of American-made Atacms in response to North Korea deploying thousands of troops to Russia that were heading to the frontline.

The Environment Secretary has said farmers protesting in Westminster against the Government’s inheritance tax raid are “wrong”.

Steve Reed told Parliament’s Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee that “very, very frightening” predictions about large numbers of farmers being affected by the changes were incorrect.

“Assuming these projections from HMRC, validated by the OBR and IFS, are correct then many of them, probably happily, are wrong because there are things that they can do to plan their tax affairs as most businesses or asset owners would do to limit their liability,” he said.

“The numbers I’ve heard bandied around are enormous and very, very frightening if people were to believe them.”

Mr Reed said figures being used by critics were based on Defra data on the value of farms “and then people have drawn a straight line to an inheritance tax liability, but you can’t do that, because ownership is much more complex than one person, one farm”.

It came as tens of thousands descended on the capital, including Jeremy Clarkson and Andrew Lloyd Webber, to protest against the government’s inheritance tax raid.

Ukraine fired its first American long-range missiles at Russia, targeting a military facility overnight.

US-supplied Atacms missiles were used to hit an artillery depot, where North Korean ammunition was also stored, in the Bryansk border region, Ukrainian officials confirmed.

Moscow claimed its air defences intercepted five of the missiles and reported no damage.

Sergei Lavrov, Russia’s foreign minister said the strike was a clear signal the West wants to escalate the conflict, claiming it would have been “impossible” to carry out without America’s help.

Just hours after the strike, Vladimir Putin signed a law allowing a nuclear strike in response to an attack with long-range missiles.

Asked about the attack, Volodymyr Zelensky said: “We now have Atacms…we will use them.”

Their use in Bryansk contradicts reports in US media that Joe Biden had only approved such strikes in the Kursk region, which is currently occupied by Ukraine.

The US president reportedly lifted restrictions on Ukraine’s use of American-made Atacms in response to North Korea deploying thousands of troops to Russia that were heading to the frontline.