SNP MEMBER of the European Parliament Alyn Smith has been officially confirmed back onto its influential Agriculture Committee.

Mr Smith was previously on the agri-committee from 2007 to 2014, working with and for Scotland’s farmers and growers, and winning The Scottish Farmer's Award for Outstanding Contribution to Scottish Agriculture at the 2009 Highland Show.

With the ongoing confusion of Brexit, Mr Smith said he had moved back onto the committee to help protect the interests of Scotland’s farmers and growers by ensuring they are not drowned out in the noise.

He said: “I am delighted to be back on AGRI, working with Scotland's friends from all across Europe. Politicians need to listen to farmers and everyone involved in making sure food gets from farm to plate, and so I hope the excellent working relationships I've built over the past decade will continue to flourish.

“These are tough times, I’ll not pretend otherwise. It is clear there is no good Brexit, and my job is to stop it," he stressed. "Farmers face a double whammy – the loss of EU support, zero guarantees about what might come next, and agriculture being the sacrificial lamb in every trade deal this weak and desperate UK government might be strong-armed into.

"The EU is not perfect, nobody needs to tell me that, but CAP support and access to the EU single market and protection on the world market are existential for Scotland’s rural economy," he said. "Farmers have been shouting from the rooftops that a bodged Brexit is going to be bad news for their livelihoods – and in turn, bad for consumers. These aren't 'scare stories' – they are warnings from the experts.

"I'll be holding Scotland's line in the European Parliament for the rest of my mandate – however long that will be – and making sure the voices of our farmers aren't lost in the political hubbub."