MP Ian Liddell-Grainger supported a move to prevent British food producers suffering unfair competition from inferior imports once Britain has left the EU.

He was one of a number of MPs backing an amendment to the Agriculture Bill tabled by Tiverton Conservative MP Neil Parish for debate on Wednesday (May 13).

The amendment will help ensure that in trade deals, agricultural or food products imported into the UK will have been produced to standards at least equal to UK domestic standards in relation to animal health and welfare, plant health, and environmental protection.

British farmers have voiced concerns that future trade deals could see the UK deluged with food imports from countries where food standards – and therefore production costs – are far lower than domestic ones.

A particular case cited has been that of American poultry meat: US producers do not generally vaccinate their flocks but rely on post-slaughter chlorine treatment to render their products safe.

Mr Liddell-Grainger said Britain could not afford to apply one set of standards for its own food sector while adopting a lower one for imports.

“Thanks in no small way to our EU membership food standards in the UK have been relentlessly driven up over the last five decades so that consumers now enjoy some of the safest, most hygienic, and humanely-produced food on the face of the planet,” he said.

“We have built an enviable reputation for high-quality food here and the public has shown through buying trends that it is more concerned about food quality and safety than ever before.

“We absolutely must not sacrifice all that progress we have made for the sake of some trade deal because that would be a stab in the back for all British farmers.

“They, too, have striven to supply the country with top-class produce and are supporting tens of thousands of jobs across the rural economy.

“If they suffer as a result of unfair competition many of those jobs will be under threat and with them the economic health of the entire countryside.

“I am delighted to give Neil’s amendment my wholehearted support.”