Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall was offered access to intensive poultry unit

In the first “Hugh’s Chicken Run” programme aired on Monday night Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall claimed that when he asked poultry producers for access to an intensive farm, “they wouldn’t let me any closer than the end of the phone.” However, Southwest processor Lloyd Maunder claims that this is untrue.

In the making of “Hugh’s Chicken Run”, Lloyd Maunder facilitated filming for Mr Fearnley-Whittingstall and his production team on no less than three farms, including a standard Assured Chicken Production (ACP) unit which is the type of “full-on intensive” farm that Mr Fearnley-Whittingstall claimed he couldn’t get access to.

The company’s commercial director Andrew Maunder was interviewed by Mr Fearnley-Whittingstall on three occasions and engaged in a robust debate with him about the chicken industry.

“We have been told the reason the footage and interviews have not been included in the programmes is because of duplication with Jamie Oliver’s upcoming programme ‘Jamie’s Fowl Dinners’ [aired tonight on Channel 4, 9pm], for which we also facilitated filming. However, we do not believe this is grounds for such a blatent untruth.”

Also see:

Jamie Oliver states ‘love and respect for British Farmers’ on video

Sainsbury’s hits back at poultry claims following Hugh and Jamie Oliver programmes