Millions of British sheep could be slaughtered under a No Deal Brexit, farming bosses warn
FARMING bosses have warned that millions of sheep will have to be slaughtered under a No Deal Brexit as Tory rebels step up their fight to block it.
NFU President Minette Batters yesterday claimed the Tory leadership contenders’ threat will be “socially and economically absolutely disastrous.”
The return of large tariffs for exports to the EU would send many farmers out of business, she argued.
Ms Batters told Sky News: “We have 15 million breeding ewes in the UK.
“For many years now, we’ve been exporting 40% of that to France.
“In a no deal situation, you cannot get over that tariff wall. You will have to look at slaughtering quite a large percentage of the national sheep stock.”
It also emerged that Tory EU rebels will tomorrow mount a fresh Commons bid to try to halt a No Deal Brexit by hijacking routine legislation on Northern Ireland.
Former Attorney General Dominic Grieve revealed he is looking at an amendment that would force the new Prime Minister to win MP's permission first for an October 31 exit without any divorce agreement in place.
The plan would scupper Boris Johnson or Jeremy Hunt’s tough negotiating threat to win a better deal from Brussels.
A Cabinet minister also accused Boris Johnson and Jeremy Hunt of wrongly playing down leaving the EU without a deal.
Justice Secretary David Gauke said: “I don’t think all of my colleagues have been as candid about that as they might have been.”
Mr Gauke also pledged to resign from the Cabinet before Boris could sack him if he wins the Tory crown, and signalled he would join the number of growing Tory rebels.
Pro-EU former minister Sam Gyimah warned there are now “a significant number, thirty plus” Tory MP's who will join Labour to block No Deal before October 31.
He argued: “It’s not about Leave or Remain. What all this is about is staving off economic mayhem.”
Further warnings also come in a BBC Panorama programme tonight.
Former Brexit ministry top mandarin Philip Rycroft tells the show that “everybody should be worried about what happens in a no-deal situation” as it is “taking a step into the unknown.”
But ex-Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab hit back to insist it was possible to contain the threats if the Government acts with determination.
Boris backer Mr Raab said: “We need to manage those risks with a can-do spirit, with giving clear indication that we’ll support all of our sensitive industries through this.”
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