Campaigners call for land reform as Scottish farmer faces eviction

Andrew Stoddart and his family must leave farm they have tended for 22 years by end of the month, with minimal compensation

Land reform campaigners have gathered outside the Scottish parliament to protest against the threatened eviction of a tenant farmer, in a case that has galvanised activists and focused public attention on a legislative mire that affects farming families across the country.

To comply with a Scottish land court ruling last year, Andrew Stoddart and his family must quit Coulston Mains farm, East Lothian, by the end of the month. Despite tending the land for 22 years and investing more than 500,000 in improvements, Stoddart will be evicted with minimal compensation along with his wife, three children and two staff, one of whom has a family of four.