Efra chair Alistair Carmichael said: "We had one witness giving evidence who when talking about the impact on his farming business (from Inheritance Tax) broke down. There are a lot of people who do not find this funny. How does it make you feel that witnesses were breaking down before my Select Committee?"
Sir Keir Starmer has told a Government committee he was not targeting either family farms or landowners in taking away Agricultural Property Relief and Business Property Relief despite claims from his party that it would target 'wealthy individuals' from non-farming backgrounds.
The Prime Minister faced the Liaison Committee for the first time on Thursday (December 19), made up of Select Committee Chairs which scrutinises the Government's policies and decisions, since Labour won the General Election in July.
Having faced questioning on issues including the Government's housing targets and changes to planning, Sir Keir was questioned by chair of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee Alistair Carmichael on Inheritance Tax and its impact on family farms and landowners.
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The Labour leader was quizzed by Mr Carmichael on the validity of HMRC's figures on the number of family farms which would be affected by the changes, the reason for bringing forward the taxation, his views on 'wealthy' landowners, and his response to the moment when NFU president Tom Bradshaw broke down in tears when discussing the Budget's impact on farmers' mental health.
When asked if he was targeting wealthy landowners or family farms, Sir Keir said: "The purpose was to raise revenue in the budget.
"We had to balance the books.
"It was not aimed at individuals.
"What the very wealthy do with land is up to them within the law.
"We needed to raise revenue because we could not have done what we are doing to boost the NHS.
"It was not targeted at this group or that group.
"We recognised the need to protect family farms with a threshold and rules applied to inheritance.
"Even when the threshold triggers the payment of tax, it is paid at 50% of the rate which is not available elsewhere.
"We wanted to put in thresholds to allow family farms to continue being passed on without being affected by Inheritance Tax."
It was far from claims made by Defra Secretary Steve Reed at the CLA's Annual Conference in November who said buying agricultural land has become the most 'efficient way' for wealthy individuals from non-farming backgrounds to shield their wealth from Inheritance Tax.
Sir Keir also stood by HMRC's figures that only 500 estates will be affected by the new measures.
"HMRC said there had been 500 claims for APR which is a robust figure published by the Treasury and certified by the OBR," he added.
"Currently 73% of APR claims are less than £1m and 40% of APR goes to the 70% of the wealthiest claimants.
"I am confident this gets the balance right between raising the revenue we need while protecting estates."
The Prime Minister also remained insistence that BPR is applicable to estates being passed on without paying tax, which Mr Carmichael denied.
Sir Keir was also pressured to challenge Chancellor Rachel Reeves on meet with farming unions over the Budget, something she has so far failed to do.
He answered by saying it was a 'matter for her' to decide whether she met farmers and that she can 'manage her own diary'.
When asked how he felt about farmers 'breaking down' over the impact of the Budget on their mental health, Sir Keir said he met with Mr Bradshaw to hear his concerns, but that he would not back down on changing Inheritance Tax.
Following the conclusion of the session, Mr Carmichael said the Prime Minister's answers were 'revealing'.
"He has undermined the case made by Treasury and Defra ministers, who claimed that the Inheritance Tax changes were about tackling the 'Jeremy Clarksons and James Dysons' of this world," he added.
"To hear it from the Prime Minister, it is just about raising money.
"Far from targeting the super-rich, he could not have been clearer that if farmers are caught and family farms have to be sold, then that is fine by him.
"If that truly is the Government position on family farms – and the Prime Minister ought to be the one to know – then it is seriously concerning.
"For someone who has repeatedly said that 'food security is national security' he does not seem altogether concerned about the people at the heart of our food production.
"Six months on from the General Election, the Prime Minister looks increasingly out of touch from ordinary people, especially those living in rural communities.
"At the very least he needs to press his Chancellor to meet with farming representatives so that they can make their case properly.
"Farmers are ready and willing to meet ministers in the middle and find common ground to fix this flawed policy – it is up to the Government to respond in kind."
In response to the Prime Minister's comments at the Liaison Committee, Mr Bradshaw said: "Despite ministers previously claiming this was about punishing wealthy people avoiding tax, it is clear from the Prime Minister's words that it is simply an indiscriminate revenue-raising measure with no thought given to who it impacts.
"What is worse is that the Government has clearly forgotten the reason agricultural Inheritance Tax reliefs were brought in in the first place – which was to ensure that farms would not be sold or broken up following the death of the owner and could continue to produce high quality British food through each generation.
"It is clear that this Government has entirely broken with that premise, and it will be farming, then its associated industries, and then consumers who will bear the impact."
