Dave Thompson MSP

Scotland Office 'asleep at the wheel'

Dave Thompson, SNP MSP for Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch has accused the Scotland Office of being “asleep at the wheel” and not understanding the dangers to Scotland’s agriculture industry shown by the aspiration of the current DEFRA secretary to end direct payments out of the Common Agricultural Policy.

The Scottish National Party raised the issue during Scottish Questions in the House of Commons and said that the Scotland Office Minister David Mundell clearly did not understand the importance of the issue.

Local MSP Mr Thompson says that removing direct payments could put many farms at significant risk and is simply not feasible. The SNP say that such a policy would undermine food production and damage rural communities in areas of significant agricultural activity like the Highlands and Islands.

Commenting on the issue Dave said: “The Scotland Office are again asleep at the wheel and failing to understand that the policy being pursued by the UK government could have a very significant adverse impact on agriculture in Scotland.

“The DEFRA secretary has made clear his view that such payments should cease and matters be left entirely to the market, a view that has been rejected by both the Scottish Government and the Welsh Government.

“Such a move would clearly give huge competitive advantage to food producers in other countries and must be ruled out completely. Much of the Highlands and Islands is deemed less-favourable agricultural land and would find it difficult to compete in an unregulated marketplace. This move by DEFRA is a huge threat to agricultural communities throughout the Highlands and Islands.

“Agriculture is a vital industry in my constituency and the recent scandal over horsemeat has shown the need to have a strong and sustainable agriculture industry, a fact recognised and consistently pursued by the Scottish Government.

“The attitude of DEFRA illustrates, yet again, the need for Scotland to have the full powers of independence to ensure we have a real voice in Europe to protect our vital interests, rather than DEFRA acting against the interests of Scotland.”