Richard Hammond has hit out at protesters who targeted an Aston Martin showroom in London, spraying orange paint all over it.
The former Top Gear presenter, 52, faces possible backlash from groups due to his new TV show in which he works to restore classic cars, but he was quick to slam the Just Stop Oil protesters who took aim at the luxury car brand.
His comments came as he discussed his new show with Good Morning Britain hosts Susanna Reid and Richard Madeley. Part way through their chat, Madeley brought up the protest and referenced the potential issue his new show may face.
He said: "Just Stop Oil who was spraying orange paint all over Aston Martin's HQ in London yesterday would say that you are basically the devil incarnate for running these old cars. But you have a very interesting response to that?"
The Grand Tour host moved to criticise their actions and try to explain why and how they're mistaken. He responded: "Yeah, I mean, on the one hand, it is a really silly time to be setting up a workshop restoring cars. But actually I mean, for one thing, that they're trying to draw attention to their cause I get that.
"But a bunch of Aston Martins that won't do many miles a year are not going to have a great deal of impact."
He continued: "Most classic cars because they're old, the carbon footprint of their creation is long in the past. If they do less than 1,000 miles a year, their carbon footprint a year is about half that of your mobile phone or your laptop.
"Because we're keeping old things going that have already been made and the resources have been mined. Any carbon footprint in his creation has been done."
And he went as far as suggesting it's actually better to have an older car rather than fork out the thousands of pounds it would cost to purchase a new electric car.
"You're actually better off as for most people, even if you have got £50,000 to go and buy a new electric car which most people... nearly everybody hasn't," he added. "And even if you did have, actually you're better off keeping an old car going in many cases, as you're not doing many miles."
Discussing his new programme, Hammond admitted there have been a number of occasions his restorations have hit him in the pocket rather than turn a profit.
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