SCOTLAND'S opt-out on growing genetically-modified crops must be protected after Brexit, the Rural Economy Secretary has said.

Fergus Ewing has written to UK Environment Secretary Michael Gove seeking assurances that EU opt-out provisions on the cultivation of GM crops will continue after the UK leaves the bloc.

The Scottish Government announced in 2015 it would ban GM crops and request Scotland be exempted from European consents for their cultivation.

In the letter Ewing said the opt-out was "extremely important" for Scotland's food and drink industry.

He welcomed a commitment made by Gove in a speech last month that environmental protections would not be weakened after Brexit but raised concerns about "caveats" in the speech.

Ewing's letter said: "While it did not mention GM specifically, it is these caveats and the amount of emphasis you place on science as being at the root of environmental policy, as opposed to evidence, that concern me…there are many types of evidence, of which science is one, that are important to consider in any policy development, for example socio-economic evidence."

A Defra spokesman said: "The government's view remains that policy and regulation of GM products should be science-based and proportionate."

Ewing’s warning came as former Bank of England governor Mervyn King insisted more work had to be done so that the UK was better prepared for a "no deal" Brexit, in order to show Brussels there was a "credible" alternative should the negotiations fail.