"UK: "Cutting Brussel's red tape will free our farmers"

Billboards publicising EU funding and rules on how many crops farmers should grow are examples of red tape that should be scrapped when we leave the European Union, Environment Secretary Andrea Leadsom said.

Speaking at the Oxford Farming Conference to leaders from the food and farming industry, the Environment Secretary highlighted EU regulations that are weighing down farmers in mountains of paperwork and stopping them getting on with the job of growing British food.

Dealing with red tape and farm inspections is estimated to cost the industry £5million per year and the loss of 300,000 hours. The Government will be consulting industry later this year on areas they would like to see reformed, and how a more common sense approach could be applied.

In a keynote speech Andrea Leadsom said: "For too long, a bureaucratic system which tries to meet the needs of 28 countries has held farmers back.

"But now, leaving the EU means we can focus on what works best for the United Kingdom."

"By cutting the red tape that comes out of Brussels, we will free our farmers to grow more, sell more and export more great British food whilst upholding our high standards for plant and animal health and welfare.

"My priority will be common sense rules that work for the United Kingdom."