TV star and owner of ‘gigantic’ house in London says he would face a ‘colossal tax aimed at foreigners’ if levy is introduced

Griff Rhys Jones has said he may quit the UK if Labour win the next election and introduce a mansion tax.

The Welsh television presenter and comedian said he would be “hit hard” by any levy on valuable property as he lives in a “gigantic” house in London’s affluent Fitzrovia.

The 61-year-old said he had bought his property in the capital 15 years ago when it was a “slum” and had since invested large amounts in doing it up.

Speaking to the Telegraph, he said Ed Miliband’s plans – which include the possible introduction of a starting rate of £30,000 for properties worth more than £3m – would mean “I’d be paying the most colossal tax, which is aimed at foreigners who have apparently come in and bought up all the property in London”.

“That sounds about as fatuous an idea as that immigrants are stealing all the jobs,” he said. “I’d probably live abroad because I could get some massive palace which I could restore.”

The actor became famous for his work alongside the late Mel Smith in Alas Smith And Jones in the 1980s and, since 2006, has starred in the BBC’s Three Men in a Boat series with fellow comedian Dara Ó Briain and Rory McGrath.

Rhys Jones did concede that his views were unlikely to earn him much sympathy from the British public. “I mustn’t equate my own angst about the mansion tax with a national policy angst,” he said. “It’s quite likely that the population is keen on seeing rich people squeal. So I’m not going to squeal to make them feel better.”

Rhys Jones is certainly not the first British celebrity to threaten exile over stringent taxes on the wealthy. Following Alistair Darling’s budget in 2009, Oscar winning actor Michael Caine spoke of his anger at the increase in income tax to 50% for the country’s highest earners.

He said the announcement had prompted him to seriously consider moving back to America, where he lived during the 1970s and 80s as a tax exile. “Tax got to 82 per cent [in the 70s] and I thought this was kind of unfair,” Caine said. “Also, I see … that the government has taken it up to 50% and if it goes to 51 I will be back in America.

“I will not pay the government more than I get. No way, ever. So they’ve reached their limit with me. That’s the lot. We’ve got 3.5 million layabouts on benefits, and I’m 76 years old, getting up at 6am to go to work to keep them.”

Tracey Emin also said in 2009 she was contemplating moving to France from the UK because she was “paying through the nose for everything”. The artist said in an interview that she was “very seriously considering leaving Britain”, adding: “I’m simply not willing to pay tax at 50% … I reckon it would mean me paying about 65p in every pound with tax, national insurance and so on.”

“So much here is simply not working now. The taxes are too high, there aren’t enough incentives to work hard, and our politicians have put me off.”

The threat of a Tony Blair-led government also proved controversial in 1997, with Frank Bruno, millionaire former world champion boxer, and magician Paul Daniels threatening to emigrate if Labour won.

“I am wealthy enough to suffer the temptation of buying a house in Barbados and call it a day in Britain, take the money and go and play golf,” said Daniels at the time. “I should feel guilty because of my socialist roots, but I got that out of my system when I worked in local government.”

Jim Davidson was another who threatened to leave a Labour-governed Britain in 1997, but he did not make good on his promise until 2004 when he moved to Dubai. However, while Bruno and Daniels did not follow through with their threat to leave, after Blair’s victory in 1997, Phil Collins fled the UK for Switzerland as a tax exile.

Indeed, Collins promised to return to the UK if the Conservatives won the 2005 election, prompting the Oasis guitarist Noel Gallagher to tell voters: “Another reason to vote Labour is if you fucking don’t, and the Conservatives get in, Phil Collins is threatening to come back and live here. And let’s face it, none of us want that.”