Jamie Oliver has opened up about the period of his life when he suffered "multiple break-ins" and digital security hacks.
The TV chef, 46, strongly implied that his involvement in the controversial Sugar Tax campaign was the motivation behind the string of attacks.
Jamie made the shocking revelations to Michael Mosley in his new Channel 4 show, Michael Mosley: Who Made Britain Fat?
The doctor-turned-journalist explores the ever-increasing rise in obesity in the UK in the new two-part series, and caught up with the TV chef to chat about the Sugar Tax and the state's involvement in promoting healthy living.
Jamie was a huge advocate for the Sugar Tax at the time - even successfully implementing it in his chain of restaurants across the country before it became official government legislation.
Speaking with Michael on the Channel 4 show, the dad-of-five admitted he received pressure from companies in the food industry as he publicly campaigned for the controversial tax.
At one point, Michael asked the cooking sensation if he ever felt threatened by the companies.
Pausing, and considering his words carefully, Jamie confessed: "I have to be pretty careful about what I say... the second I started pre-production on sugar rush to the moment that the sugar tax happened was the only time in my life where I've had multiple break-ins, huge security digital... people getting into our system."
He then added: "I can't say that it has got anything to do with that and I can't prove it, all I can say is that in the 46 years that I've lived on this planet the only time any of that has ever happened once, let alone multiple times, was in that five-month period."
Jamie would often meet with then Prime Minister David Cameron and Chancellor George Osborne - who also appeared on the show - before the Sugar Tax was confirmed in 2016.
After the tax was enacted in April 2018, manufacturers of soft drinks containing more than 5g of sugar per 100ml have been made to pay a levy of 18p a litre to the Treasury, or 24p a litre for sugar content over 8g per 100ml.
"This levy is one of the most important and symbolic moments so far in the fight to protect our kids against diet-related disease," Jamie wrote on his website at the time.
"This is a progressive levy, for good, which – let’s remember – polled at 69% popularity, and will bring much-needed new money into the education system."
Prior to the government announcing a national Soft Drinks Industry Levy, Jamie tested the tax in his own restaurants, the now-defunct Jamie's Italian chain.
In June 2015, the cookbook author announced that every drink on his menu containing added sugar would cost 10p extra and that the money would help pay for food education and water fountains in schools.
Two years on, it was confirmed that the deterrent had worked, with Jamie's Italian restaurant reporting a significant drop in sales of sugary drinks.
*Michael Mosley: Who Made Britain Fat? continues on Wednesday, March, 16 at 9pm on Channel 4.
