UK Farmers Shame Liz Truss For Snubbing Rural Hustings - Reports

MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 19th August, 2022) The head of the UK National Farmers' Union criticized premiership candidate Liz Truss on Thursday for refusing to attend a faceoff with her key rival Rishi Sunak on food security, media reported.

Minette Batters said on social media on Tuesday that only the former finance chief had agreed to do a Food & Farming hustings. Truss's team said she "cannot turn up to everything," according to the Guardian.

Batters told the daily it was a "shame" Truss would not come because the foreign secretary was expected to respond to claims made by Environment Secretary George Eustice that she refused to enshrine animal welfare guarantees in agriculture deals with other countries.

"I have offered to meet her anywhere. I've offered to do it virtually, we aren't tied to any location or anything. But it doesn't look likely. It's disappointing, as it's not just about farming," Batters said.

Food security is expected to feature heavily in the hustings as extreme weather and droughts continue to batter the UK and Europe. Batters said Tuesday that only Sunak had agreed to a legally binding commitment on food security.