“No, I don’t envisage tariffs on Irish beef coming into the UK. I expect an all-encompassing free trade agreement. I have spoken to many of the EU agriculture ministers and that is their view too.” I was I must admit taken aback by UK secretary of state Andrea Leadsom’s positive view on the agricultural future after Britain leaves the EU. I had gone over to London for a briefing by the secretary of state on Monday at which she laid out her policy for dealing with Britain leaving the EU and the effect on UK farming. She said she was speaking under some constraint as the full Tory manifesto would not be published for a few days. Nevertheless, she was much more forthright than I expected. She said she had five strands to her policy for UK agriculture.