Nigel Farage was left scratching his head as he turned up to report on a tractor protest in London triggered by post-Brexit deals that have led to substandard imports and dishonest labelling.
Campaign groups Save British Farming and Fairness for Farmers of Kent assembled for a “go-slow” convoy and drive around Westminster, with organisers saying 50 to 100 tractors convened as well as other farm vehicles on Monday evening.
The protesters are raising concerns over the increasing difficulties faced by the British farming industry which they say are leaving the nation’s food security at risk.
They are calling for an end to trade deals which they say are allowing imports of food produced to standards that would be illegal in the UK and undercutting British farmers.
Organisers also criticise labelling that allows products to bear a Union flag when they have not been grown or reared in Britain.
Wiltshire beef and arable farmer and Save British Farming founder Liz Webster said the situation risked food security and the nation’s health.
Trade deals with New Zealand, Australia, and the CPTPP deal with 11 countries including Canada, Japan and Mexico, along with a lack of import checks, were allowing lower standard foods into the country, she said.
British producers had also lost the level playing field with EU farmers and within the UK, Ms Webster warned.
She said European farmers were still receiving subsidies, had freedom of movement for labour, and had continued to have access to British markets, enabling them to undercut farmers in Britain.
Ms Webster said the current situation was “like going out with the English football team to the World Cup and saying ‘off you go, you’ve got chains on your legs and chains on your hands’. We are completely and utterly disadvantaged”.
Brexit campaigner Farage was also at the protest.
His presence led to a collective sigh on social media as the former UKIPer tried to come to terms with what people were so hacked off about:
Related: Shapps: No connection whatsoever between Moscow terror attack and Ukraine
