Conservative leadership frontrunner Liz Truss will be “empty chaired” by farmers after she refused to turn up at a hustings event on rural issues organised by union leaders.

Adam Forrest www.independent.co.uk

The National Farmers’ Union (NFU) is furious at Truss’s decision to snub the invitation to address members on Friday, at event which will be attended by her Tory rival Rishi Sunak.

It comes as Truss faces criticism from environment secretary George Eustice, who suggested that she did not protect animal welfare standards in post-Brexit trade deals.

Speaking about plans to “empty chair” Truss, the NFU president Minette Batters said she had “offered to meet her anywhere” saying she had offered to ask questions virtually.

“It’s disappointing as it’s not just about farming – food is such a critical subject, water is so critical to everybody, especially at the moment,” Batters told The Guardian.

Describing the snub as “a shame”, the farming union leader added: “It doesn’t bode well. George Eustice has made his comments – you would think she would want to put her marker down.”

The Truss campaign said she “cannot turn up to everything”, but the Sunak campaign said he would attend on Friday. A spokesperson said he would “support farmers in all future UK trade deals, taking time to get the trade deals right, rather than rushing them through”.

Eustice revealed on Wednesday that he faced “challenges” and tensions” with Truss in getting her to recognise animal welfare in trade deals she struck as trade secretary.

The Sunak supporter made the remarks at an environment-focused leadership hustings hosted by the Conservative Environment Network (CEN) – which boasts more than 100 Tory MPs as part of its parliamentary caucus.

“It is fair to say there were some challenges that I had getting Liz Truss to recognise the importance of animal welfare in particular,” he said.

The minister added: “It’s not a secret really – but there was often quite a bit of tension between us trying to get animal welfare in particular recognised during those trade agreements.”

Farming groups have accused the government of undercutting British producers by doing deals with countries which allow lower welfare standards hoping to boost cheap exports to the UK.

A recent report by the ResPublica think tank warned that domestic farmers will be undercut if the “soft” approach of the Australia and New Zealand negotiations continues in talks with countries with “less qualms” about quality.

But Zac Goldsmith, a Truss supporter, told the online hustings: “I think Liz is sound on animal welfare. She’s committed to seeing through the kept animals bill.”

The Tory peer, a close ally of Boris Johnson, described how he was a “Liz sceptic” when she became foreign secretary, but said he believed she had been an “enthusiastic driver” of the environmental agenda.

The NFU president said this week that neither Tory had set out a sufficient plan to deal with the water crisis.

Ms Batters said it was “immoral and unethical” to allow water to be wasted, as fears grow could be ruined crops because of widespread droughts.

Both Tory candidates will go head-to-head at a live Tory hustings event in Manchester evening hosted by GB News.

Sunak has insisted that he “definitely” still has a shot at becoming the next PM despite the latest YouGov poll of Tory members putting Truss as the frontrunner by 66 per cent to 34 per cent.

[One way of getting Exmouth featured on almost all BBC news channels – Owl] 

A pollution warning has been issued at six Devon beaches today as people are being advised not to swim in the sea. The alerts have been flagged due to a drop in water quality as well as a sewer overflow.

Lili Stebbings www.devonlive.com

The warnings in place on Thursday were published by the Safer Seas and Rivers Service from the campaign group Surfers Against Sewage. Its interactive map monitors 400 locations around the UK coast, issuing alerts based on real-time tracking of combined sewage overflows and pollution risk forecasts.

The updated warning comes after swimmers were advised to avoid five Devon beaches yesterday. The service gave details of the following Devon locations where warnings were in place:

Teignmouth Holcombe

Pollution Alert: Storm sewage has been discharged from a sewer overflow in this location within the past 48 hours.

A small sand and rock beach located at the base of tall red cliffs, Holcombe is an isolated beach backed by cliffs and a railway line. A sewer overflow discharges into the Holcombe Stream 40m upstream of the beach.

Teignmouth Town

Pollution Risk Warning: Bathing not advised today due to the likelihood of reduced water quality.

Located NE of the Teign Estuary, Teignmouth Town beach is a 1km stretch of sand backed by a promenade and the town. A sewer overflow at the railway station discharges northeast of the beach.

Exmouth

Pollution Risk Warning: Bathing not advised today due to the likelihood of reduced water quality.

Exmouth is a large sandy resort beach at the mouth of the River Exe backed by a promenade and the town. A memento of its Victorian heyday fine gardens and parks also back the beach. There is a sewer overflow discharging through an outfall to the south east which may affect bathing water quality especially after heavy rainfall.

Sidmouth Town

Pollution Alert: Storm sewage has been discharged from a sewer overflow in this location within the past 48 hours.

Rock pools to the west, overhanging cliffs to the east, Sidmouth Town beach compromises 900m of legally protected pebbles broken up by rock groynes and backed by a promenade and the town. Two sewer overflows are located at Sidmouth, one discharges through a long sea outfall some 600m out to sea while the other discharges into the River Sid, just under 400m to the east.

Beer

Pollution Alert: Storm sewage has been discharged from a sewer overflow in this location within the past 48 hours.

A small seaside village built around a small cove, Beer is a pebble and sand beach, approximately 1.2km wide. It is backed by cliffs and sheltered from most winds. Three sewer overflows surround Beer with one discharging from Beer car park, one discharging 600m North East and one slightly further to the South.

Wembury

Pollution Risk Warning: Bathing not advised today due to the likelihood of reduced water quality.

Famous for its shore life and rock pools, Wembury is a very popular sand and rock beach resort, some 1.1km wide. A stream flows across the beach, many rock pools are exposed at low tide and cliffs back the beach. There is a sewer overflow from Wembury pumping station that discharges 50m upstream of the beach.

Shoalstone Beach in Brixham is also under maintenance meaning sewage alerts have been disabled.

South West Water, which provides water and sewerage services in Devon, said in a statement: “The alerts raised at Teignmouth and Exmouth today were from the Environment Agency’s Pollution Risk Forecast (PRF system) which triggers precautionary alerts when weather conditions pose a potential risk to water quality along with other factors, and were not related to SWW activity.

“Alerts have been raised for Sidmouth and Beer in relation to stormwater overflows which may temporarily impact bathing water quality – these are precautionary and we expect them to be removed soon.”

As recorded by Steve Bell

The Government has been accused of being “asleep at the wheel” after an Ofgem director quit, citing concerns the regulator is failing to effectively protect struggling households.

Ofgem director quits over price cap as Ed Miliband says Government is ‘asleep’

Dominic McGrath www.standard.co.uk 

Christine Farnish told The Times she resigned in the belief the watchdog has not “struck the right balance between the interests of consumers and the interests of suppliers”.

The energy regulator has faced criticism in recent months for not doing enough to protect families during the global energy crisis.

Ms Farnish, who served on the Ofgem board for several years, told the paper: “I resigned from the Ofgem board because I could not support a key decision to recover additional supplier costs from consumer bills this winter.”

She said she believes the move will “add several hundred pounds to everyone’s bill in order to support a number of suppliers in the coming months”.

It is understood her resignation is linked to Ofgem’s decision to change the methodology of the price cap to allow suppliers to recover some of the high energy “backwardation” costs sooner rather than later.

An Ofgem spokesman said: “We are thankful to Christine for her many years of devoted service to Ofgem.

“Due to this unprecedented energy crisis, Ofgem is having to make some incredibly difficult decisions where carefully balanced trade-offs are being weighed up all the time. But we always prioritise consumers’ needs both in the immediate and long term.

“The rest of the board decided a shorter recovery period for energy costs was in the best interest of consumers in the long term by reducing the very real risk of suppliers going bust, which would heap yet more costs on to bills and add unnecessary worry and concern at an already very difficult time.”

The resignation comes amid mounting pressure on the Government to bring forward extra measures to tackle surging inflation and rising energy bills.

The issue has overshadowed the race to replace Boris Johnson as Prime Minister, with both Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak being repeatedly pressed on their plans to help struggling households.

Ed Miliband, Labour’s shadow climate change secretary, said Ms Farnish’s resignation shows the Government is “asleep at the wheel”.

“For 12 years, the Conservatives have totally failed to regulate (the) energy market. In no other country has 32 energy suppliers gone bust.

“We simply cannot allow the British people to suffer a further increase in bills. It is intolerable that the Conservatives continue to offer no solutions to this crisis, and oppose Labour’s plan.”

A spokesman for the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy said: “We are aware of a resignation at the board of Ofgem, which has been accepted.”