FARMING has become the latest industry to demand greater clarity from the Theresa May's government over Brexit amid continued squabbling within the Cabinet.

Fourteen farming groups, including the National Farmers Union of Scotland and Scottish Land & Estates, called on ministers to manage emerging “uncertainties” and secure an initial transition period virtually identical to the current EU regime.

Their joint statement demanded a transition phase after March 2019 which retained “unfettered access to European markets” and kept the UK inside the customs union.

They also said the government must put in place "a fully functioning immigration system” before freedom of movement ended to ensure farmers had access to foreign labour.

It said “certainty in the short term” would let farmers prepare for new free trade agreements.

The intervention coincided with the City-friendly Institute of Directors demanding “urgent” agreement about the shape of the three-year transition phase after Brexit and complaining about the “range of speculative arguments over transition” emerging from the Cabinet.

Chancellor Philip Hammond and International Trade Secretary Liam Fox are at odds over keeping free movement and the customs union as the UK adjusts to Brexit.

NFU Scotland president Andrew McCornick said: “Farmers and land managers will benefit from new opportunities in trade and agricultural policy.

“However, we must take the necessary time to put in place the right trade agreements and develop and test a new policy that will support farming and the environment long-term.

“We need a period of certainty in which this work can be done."

David Johnstone, chairman of Scottish Land & Estates, said: “It is vital that the unique interests of Scottish agriculture are taken account of during Brexit negotiations.

“We would urge the UK Government and the devolved administrations to work together to deliver a new farming landscape that delivers for all.

“That needs to be accompanied by a gradual transition in terms of our support framework as we leave the EU. There should be no cliff-edge, and that means ensuring the industry has access to the support, labour and trade markets required to remain a world leader.”

Scottish LibDem MSP Alex Cole-Hamilton said: “The farming sector are quite clear about the importance of the EU both in terms of supplying essential labour and as a market for our fantastic Scottish produce. But they’re facing huge risks at the hands of Theresa May and her hard Brexiteers who seem intent on making a pig’s ear of these essential negotiations.”

Responding to the IoD report, the pro-Brexit International Development Secretary Priti Patel insisted the UK government had been “very clear” on a transition deal.

She told Sky News: “Come March 2019, the United Kingdom will be leaving the European Union. That means we'll be taking back control of our borders and our immigration policy, which means an end to free movement. Our position is very clear on that.”

Ms Patel rejected suggestions that Brexiteer MPs like herself had been sidelined since the Tories’ disastrous general election and Mrs May losing her Commons majority.

She said: “Just to remind people, in terms of the Cabinet composition, there are plenty of Brexiteers there that were at the forefront of the referendum campaign and we have one of them as well leading the negotiations in Brussels right now [Brexit Secretary David Davis].”

Meanwhile Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn is facing calls from trade union leaders and some of his MPs to reverse his stance and back continued free movement of workers after Brexit.

The newly launched Labour Campaign for free Movement includes former frontbenchers Clive Lewis and David Lammy, as well as transport union leader Manuel Cortes.

SNP Foreign Affairs spokesman Stephen Gethins said Labour needed to “unify” on Brexit. He said: “Labour’s continued contradictions over the UK’s membership of the single market and customs union risks letting the Tories push through their Brexit plans.”