NFU urges May to put food production at heart of agriculture bill

Union's president says bill's current wording could lead to a lowering of standards

The National Farmers' Union has told Theresa May she must treat the food industry as being of equal importance as the car sector, with special protections enshrined in new laws covering standards and production.

The NFU president, Minette Batters, said she had raised concerns in a phone call to the prime minister that food production was not at the heart of a new agriculture bill, the first major overhaul of legislation in the sector since the second world war.