Jeremy Clarkson brands Andy Burnham 'most small-minded and timid leader EVER' in brutal putdown

Jeremy Clarkson has launched a scathing attack on Prime Minister Andy Burnham, branding him the "most small-minded and timid leader we've ever had".

The former Top Gear presenter took aim at the Labour leader while arguing that Britain needs ambitious risk-takers willing to tackle some of humanity's biggest challenges.

Writing in his latest Sunday Times column, Mr Clarkson reflected on explorers and adventurers who have pushed themselves to extremes.

The 66-year-old argued that people prepared to take extraordinary risks have historically helped humanity progress, pointing to figures including Neil Armstrong, Chuck Yeager and the Wright brothers.

But Mr Clarkson suggested modern adventurers are running out of new challenges, with the world's highest mountains already conquered and many exploration records already broken.

Instead, he argued that today's boldest thinkers should turn their attention towards major challenges facing humanity, including artificial intelligence and the possibility of humans eventually living on Mars or the ocean floor.

The presenter then turned his attention to Mr Burnham, delivering a blistering assessment of the Prime Minister's ambitions.

He wrote: "Ordinarily, when we get a new Prime Minister, he is full of gusto and drive and ambition."

Mr Clarkson claimed a new leader would typically arrive wanting to tackle major international problems and compared such ambition to that displayed by explorers including Sir Ranulph Fiennes and Sir Edmund Hillary.

However, he suggested Mr Burnham took a very different approach.

Taking aim at the Prime Minister's focus on technical education, Mr Clarkson said Mr Burnham had recently announced that he wanted to "give every young person a hard hat".

He then delivered his strongest criticism, declaring: "He's the most small-minded and timid leader we've ever had."

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Mr Clarkson concluded by joking that had Mr Burnham been in charge during humanity's earliest explorations, "we'd all still be in there. Safe, but bored to tears".

Mr Burnham has made technical education a key part of his plans for young people.

The Government announced in July that pupils would be offered new technical education pathways from the age of 14, combining core academic subjects with skills training, work experience and links to employers.

Announcing the policy, Mr Burnham argued that Britain had placed too much emphasis on the traditional academic route and pledged that the country would "value the hard hat every bit as much as the graduation cap".

The Prime Minister said the reforms were intended to tackle youth unemployment and provide young people with clearer routes into skilled, well-paid jobs.

Mr Clarkson's intervention comes as Mr Burnham insists his Government can deliver substantial change despite a challenging economic backdrop.

Ahead of the Labour Party conference, the Prime Minister said he remained prepared to pursue significant reforms, arguing that there were still measures the Government could take despite constraints on public finances.