Sir Gavin Williamson recently attended a meeting with the owners of various farms around Staffordshire, members of the Staffordshire National Farmers Union, and the Police to discuss rural crime.
Sir Gavin sat as a panellist during the meeting alongside Eunice Finney, the Managing Director of Amerton Farm, and Paul Brown, the Chair of Staffordshire NFU, among others. During the meeting, Sir Gavin listened to the testimonies of several farmers who spoke of incidents of animal slaughter and theft of machinery. Following this, Sir Gavin has promised to raise the issue with key ministers and will be setting up a cross-party Parliamentary group to push for changes.
The event was attended by representatives from farms across Staffordshire, from Essington, Great Haywood, Penkridge, Stowe-by-Chartley, and Stafford. All were keen to work with the Police to combat the increase in crime against livestock and farming equipment. The Government has already taken steps to introduce new criminal offences and tougher sentencing. However, Sir Gavin felt more needed to be done.
Sir Gavin said: “The farming industry is the backbone of Britain. We must take the crimes that are committed against livestock and farming equipment seriously to support Staffordshire farmers. Together with other parliamentarians, I hope to encourage the prioritisation of this issue within local authorities and the national Government.”
