MP against Bill change

JOHN HOWELL backed the Government by voting against a House of Lords amendment to protect animal welfare standards in future trade deals.

The Henley MP was one of 332 MPs to vote against the change to the Agriculture Bill, which supporters said would ensure food imports met domestic standards.

The Bill is designed to prepare the industry for when the UK leaves the European Union.

Mr Howell says he voted this way because existing legislation covered these standards.

He said: “It was the most inappropriate place to have a clause about protecting standards when it is already built into legislation. You don’t fill a Bill with lots of duplicated details.”