LOCAL MPs have voted against protecting food standards in the Agriculture Bill.

On Monday, MPs voted by a majority of 53 to remove an amendment from the Agriculture Bill that would have protected British farmers and food standards in future trade deals like the one with the United States.

It was the latest attempt to require imported food to meet domestic legal standards from January 1, and campaigners have warned the UK could be forced to accept lower standards to secure a future US trade deal.

The bill - designed to prepare the farming industry for when the UK no longer has to follow EU laws and rules next year - returned to the Commons on Monday following amendments by the House of Lords.

It included a number of changes, including one which would give MPs a veto over sections in trade deals relating to food imports, which would be required to comply with "relevant domestic standards"

Despite the Conservative Party pledging in its 2019 election manifesto "not compromise on our high environmental protection, animal welfare and food standards” in Brexit trade negotiations, just 16 of the party's 346 MPs supported the amendment.

Those who voted against the amendment included Wrexham's MP Sarah Atherton, Delyn MP Rob Roberts and Clwyd South MP Simon Baynes.

Alyn and Deeside MP Mark Tami was the only one of the four Flintshire and Wrexham MPs to vote in favour of it. 

The government says EU rules banning imports of chlorine-washed chicken and other products will be automatically written into UK law once the post-Brexit transition period ends on 31 December.

However, the changes were said by campaigners to necessary to make it impossible for the US or other countries to export so-called chlorinated chicken or beef fattened with hormones.

Sarah Atherton MP said: "I am proud of the high food standards we have here in the UK. While the Lords amendment suggested that it would protect food standards, there would be many unintended consequences flowing from it, some of which we can predict, and some of which we can’t.

“The UK already imports food from countries such as Canada, South Africa and Japan through preferences in existing free trade agreements – none of these agreements pose a risk to UK food standards.

“The amendment to the Agriculture Bill would have put up new trade barriers and prevented the government from being able to agree fair and mutually beneficial trade deals. Indeed, forcing all our trading partners to produce to UK domestic standards would only result in fewer export opportunities for our own farmers.

“Ministers say that food coming into this country will be required to meet existing import requirements as the EU Withdrawal Act will transfer all existing EU food safety provisions, including existing import requirements, onto the UK statute book. These import standards include a ban on using artificial growth hormones in domestic and imported products and set out that no products, other than portable water, are approved to decontaminate poultry carcasses.

“Any changes to existing food safety legislation would require new legislation to be brought before parliament.”