THE UK Government has come under fire for failing to set up a permanent commission to scrutinise the impact of trade deals on farmers.

The SNP has said Westminster has failed farmers, after it pledged to set up a Trade and Agriculture Commission but has not yet done so.

A statutory commission was pledged in November, which was supposed to interrogate trade deals made after Brexit, to ensure that farmers and crofters across the UK would not be undercut and squeezed out as a result of any trade agreement.

However no such body has been established, with applications to join the body closing only last month.

The SNP said the slow progress on the commission set-up meant proper scrutiny was not being done, particularly on high-profile trade deals such as the one with Australia.

The controversial deal has caused concern among farmers, after it gave Australian producers the ability to import large quantities of beef and lamb into the UK, increasing over a 10-year period.

Farmers say it will short-change them, while politicians argue that Australia has a different level of animal welfare standards.

Jim Fairlie, SNP MSP and former sheep farmer, said: "Farmers and crofters are being left high and dry by the Tories as they continue to fail to protect Scotland’s farmers from being undercut by trade deals. This is a race to the bottom on food standards and Scotland’s farming industry is the loser.

“There are real fears within the agriculture sector in Scotland that the Australian deal will form a blueprint for future deals with America and other countries, posing further threats to the very future of our vital, world-class farming and crofting sector.

“Despite the Tories promising to set up a new Trade and Agriculture Commission to scrutinise these deals it is nowhere to be seen and the door is still wide open for deals to undercut the farming sector with lower standards and prices."

A UK Government spokesman said there would be a response published to the previous trade and agriculture commission's report on trade agreements, but did nto address the SNP's criticism directly.

A spokesman said: "The Government will publish its response to the Commission’s report in due course.

“The Government is grateful to the Trade and Agriculture Commission for their comprehensive report and is considering their recommendations carefully.

“Our response will set out how we aim to meet the immense opportunities the UK now has as an independent trading nation, while also upholding the Government’s commitment to maintaining and protecting the UK’s high agri-food safety standards.”

Ministers have previously insisted that deals such as that done with Australia will not have a negative effect on farmers, and they would be protected as tariff-free quotas of meat would rise gradually.