Food tsar hits out at trade deal signed with Oz and Kiwis

DEALS struck with Australia and New Zealand allow produce made ‘under much worse standards’ to enter Britain, the Government’s food tsar said yesterday.

Henry Dimbleby launched a scathing attack on former Trade Secretary Liz Truss – who oversaw the deals – at the Oxford Farming Conference.

He said British farmers were competing with food that was worse for animal welfare and the environment. If similar agreements were struck with countries such as Brazil and the US it would be ‘absolutely disastrous’, he said.

But Mr Dimbleby – co-founder of the restaurant chain Leon – said he was hopeful new International Trade Secretary Anne-Marie Trevelyan would ensure food produced abroad was made to the same high standards as in the UK. Trade deals signed in December promised cheaper Jacobs Creek wine and surfboards for Britain, while Australia and New Zealand will get cheaper Scotch, cars and clothes.

But critics point out Australian beef has been linked to deforestation and is flown across the world racking up huge greenhouse gas emissions. Miss Truss has said the agreements benefit ‘all nations and regions of the UK’. But Mr Dimbleby said the deals were made in a hurry ‘to show something was happening with Brexit’. ÷ Farmers have condemned Asda’s decision to stop stocking only British beef. The supermarket will also now look at cheaper imports to combat a surge in prices for British beef.