Jeremy Clarkson has claimed that hackers have stolen £27,000 from his country pub in the Cotswolds.
The 65-year-old former Top Gear presenter, who opened The Farmer’s Dog last summer, said that his pub’s accounting system had been broken into by unidentified hackers, who withdrew the funds.
Writing in his column for The Sun, Clarkson said: “So, Jaguar Land Rover had to shut down its production lines this week after systems were breached by computer hackers.”
“And we are told similar attacks were launched in recent months on both M&S and the Co-op. But no one thought to mention that my pub, The Farmer’s Dog, has been hit too.”
He claimed that the hackers “broke into our accounting system and helped themselves to £27,000”.
It remains unclear how the hackers got into Clarkson’s pub’s accounts system, or whether Clarkson has contacted the police. The Independent has contacted Clarkson for comment.
It follows a spate of cyberattacks across the UK retail sector earlier this year, with M&S, the Co-op and Harrods among those worst affected.
Last week, a group of hackers who targeted M&S and other British brands claimed they were also behind a major cyberattack on Jaguar Land Rover, which severely disrupted the company’s global operations.
Clarkson paid less than £1m for his Oxfordshire watering hole based in Asthall, formerly known as The Windmill.
He made the purchase after finding success with his now-famous, 1,000-acre Diddly Squat farm and accompanying shop, which is the centre of his popular Prime Video series Clarkson’s Farm.
Clarkson recently admitted to entrepreneurial struggles, claiming he “doesn’t understand” business.
“I’m done with business now,” he said in a new interview with The Times. “I am not starting another business as long as I live.”
He continued: “I don’t understand it and am not motivated by money. I just want a good craic.”
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Last year, the presenter described the process of becoming a pub landlord as terribly stressful, and said there are many inconveniences that “you don’t think about”.
After the pub’s opening, he explained that he and his team experienced their first run-in with a nuisance customer when someone “smashed the lavatory door”.
“When you go to a festival and go in the bogs, you think, does your bathroom at home look like this? How can you break a bathroom door?” he said.
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