Cost of Beckett's farming mistakes becoming clearer

Brussels, 9th January 2008 – The cost of Margaret Beckett's calamitous failure to get the 2005 Single Farm Payments out in time became a little clearer last night after it emerged British taxpayers had already paid £63 million in EU fines for failing to meet the statutory deadline.

The figure was published last night in a Commons written reply from Environment Minister Jonathan Shaw. The National Audit Office said last month that Defra has set aside a total of £292 million to cover possible fines, which are customarily announced by the Commission in the spring.

The Minister also revealed that the number of staff earning £100,000 or more at Defra had more than trebled in the past five years. In 2002, eight people were on such salaries, but that figure was 25 last year.

Conservative Chairman of the European Parliament's Agriculture Committee, and a former Somerset farmer, Neil Parish MEP, said:

"The fact our government has already paid out this much before the full extent of the fines has been announced suggests Defra is expecting an expensive rebuke from the European Commission.