LOCHABER MP Ian Blackford has blasted the Westminster Tory government, saying Scottish farmers will likely now lose out on hundreds of millions of pounds in convergence funding owed to them because the money has already been spent.
Mr Blackford said this became clear in his meeting, as SNP Westminster group leader, with Secretary of State for Rural Affairs Michael Gove. Slamming it as a ‘blatant and shocking U-turn’, the MP for Ross, Skye and Lochaber said despite promises to review it as far back as 2014 – reiterated in 2016 and 2017 – it now seems the UK government is not committed to keeping those promises and shows that the Tories ‘are not to be trusted’.
In a letter to Mr Gove, Mr Blackford has asked for clarity on comments made suggesting money intended for Scottish farmers had in fact gone to Welsh, Northern Irish and English farmers instead.