Flock of sheep herded past government buildings in London by anti-Brexit protesters

A flock of sheep was herded along Whitehall today by campaigners who say a no-deal Brexit could force half of UK farms out of business.
A flock of sheep are herded past government buildings in Whitehall, London, by Farmers for a People's Vote. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Thursday August 15, 2019.A flock of sheep are herded past government buildings in Whitehall, London, by Farmers for a People's Vote. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Thursday August 15, 2019.
A flock of sheep are herded past government buildings in Whitehall, London, by Farmers for a People's Vote. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Thursday August 15, 2019.

Six sheep were led past government buildings by the People's Vote campaign group during the launch of its Farmers For A People's Vote offshoot.

The spectacle, which lasted around half an hour, ended outside The Farmers' Club at 3 Whitehall Court, where the groups held a press conference to launch a report about the effects of no deal on agriculture.

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'Brexit no-deal could put over half of UK farms out of business'
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Panellists included Welsh Conservative anti-Brexit MP Guto Bebb, who said he will step down at the next election over Brexit and branded the consequences of no-deal "devastating".Dr Sean Rickard, former chief economist of the National Farmers' Union, unveiled the report, No Deal: The Door To The Decimation Of UK Farming.

He said the farming and food industries would be "most vulnerable" to the impacts of no deal.

"We are in a state of utter trading madness if we crash out of Europe," he said.

Farmers would face "very high tariffs" on exports to the EU and be placed into a "vicious pincers movement", he said.

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The report claims the EU and countries with which it has free trade agreements would apply tariffs on food imports from the UK after no deal, rendering British farms "uncompetitive".

A combination of the removal of support payments and an "adverse trading environment" will render farming "unviable" and around half of businesses could cease trading by the mid-2020s, the report warns.

Dr Rickard said Brexit supporters do not see farming as a "priority", adding: "I cannot see much opportunity of this sector growing in the aftermath of a no-deal Brexit."

"Many industries will suffer but the industry that would suffer the most serious economic shock will be agriculture," he said.

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"It is impossible to project the exact number of farmers who will go out of business. What we do know is that over 40% of them will have no net income if the basic payment is removed."

Mr Bebb said: "Farming is at the very heart of what makes this country great.

"To put that all at risk for the sake of pursuing a disastrous no deal for which the public haven't given their consent would be an outrage against democracy.

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