TRADE DEAL negotiations are paving the way for corporate profit at the expense of food standards and the future of the planet.

This accusation from lobby group Farmers for Action (FFA), follows the decision by MPs not to enshrine food standards in British law, which they say is only half of the story, calling out the Government for creating unnecessary carbon footprints.

Campaigners from the Save British Farming group staged a peaceful tractor protest ahead of Monday’s vote on the Agriculture Bill, which was met by huge support from members of the public as the procession snaked its way across the city centre.

The founder of the group, Liz Webster, told the SF that the vote marked the beginning of a constitutional crisis: “I am beyond livid at this lack of respect for democracy, when 95% of the public don’t want this.

“We were there on Monday to bring the rural areas to Westminster and to say we are watching you and we’re not going away,” she continued. “We didn’t expect to win the vote and imagine it will ping pong back and forth, but we are entering into a constitutional crisis and it is time for farmers and the public to demonstrate against what this government is doing.”

FFA gave their full support to Save British Farming’s stunt, adding that any Government that gets away with lowering food standards is ‘simply Government failure.’

The lobby group’s Northern Irish organiser, William Taylor, is urging political parties to hold Boris Johnson and his party to account on food standards and climate change.

“There could be a legal case to be had against the Government creating trade agreements which cause food ships to pass in the night with the same cargo bound for their opposite ports.

“Northern Ireland has just got clearance for two abattoirs to ship beef to the US only to meet US ships coming the other way after January 1, with the same cargo – all for corporate gain but consumers, farmers and the planet’s loss,” he stressed.

FFA is calling for the Isle of Man principal to be implemented immediately. Mr Taylor explained: “Every country should use up all the beef, lamb, dairy, pork, chicken and other produce home produced before it imports a stitch and even then only from the nearest source available!

“The time has come to hold this government to account on food standards and food miles for corporate profit,” he urged.