Furious farmers confronted Environment Secretary Steve Reed as he left a farming conference in Oxford this lunchtime, swarming his car as he drove away.
Mr Reed told the conference that he “regrets” the decision by the Chancellor to levy inheritance tax on farmers, a move that remains detested by rural groups and voters.
Videos passed to the Express following his conference speech showed Mr Reed’s car being surrounded by angry protesters, as the police struggled to clear a path for him to drive away.
Tractors were also heard furiously honking their horns as the environment secretary struggled to make his escape.
Another video showed a protester yelling: “Why are you dismissing the people you are supposed to be representing!”
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Steve Reed remains hated by many farmers over the tax raid (Image: Getty)
A second yelled: “Pay attention Steve Reed!”
Speaking at the conference, Steve Reed promoted his so-called “new deal for farmers”, which will improve food monitoring, quicken planning reforms, and help farmers make additional money from selling surplus energy.
He said he does recognise the anger farmers feel at the tax changes announced in the Budget, but insisted he was equally “shocked” by the claimed £22 billion black hole inherited from the .
He told the conference: “I’m sorry that some of the actions we had to take have shocked you in return.”
However he was also booed by the audience when reiterating highly disputed claims that most farms valued at less than £3 million will be unaffected by the tax.
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Furious farmers at the gates of the conference (Image: Express)
Mo Metcalf-Fisher, director of external affairs for the Countryside Alliance, told the Express: “The family farm tax is an absolute disaster and the government just won’t listen to the experts who keep warning them not to go through with it.”
“If the government thought the anger at this hideous tax hike was going away, they are mistaken.
“Farmers will continue to make their voices heard: the future of family farms and our food security is at risk.
“We urge the government to work with the countryside and rethink this policy,”.
The LibDems’ Environment spokesman Tim Farron blasted: “When it comes to the family farm tax, it’s adding insult to injury that all Mr Reed had to give farmers this morning was his ‘regret’ for the introduction of the policy. It’s simply not good enough.”
“I know many in the hall today will have been bitterly disappointed. Farmers up and down the country were sold out by the and have now been let down by the Labour government – they don’t need more empty words. They need action to address the dire financial predicaments they are staring down as this unfair new tax approaches.”
“The Government must do the decent thing and reverse the family farm tax.”