Delinked payments ‘will not see the light of day’, says top lawyer

“I will put my neck on the line on this – I do not think they will see the light of day,” she said.

“The minute you set a reference period which gives you a right to cash in payments, you have got all sorts of difficulties – like what if somebody dies or if they sold land.

“[Cross compliance] will feature in future schemes because it is a very useful way of policing hedgerow removal or footpaths, rather than relying on local authorities to do it.

Risk

“The risk is [delinked payments] take money out of the very sector you are wanting to encourage to produce food, because someone could take the money and retire, and a new entrant comes in or a neighbouring farmer and has to deal with that holding without payments other people are getting for the short period they are available.

“I really cannot see it happening to be honest.”

NFU vice president Stuart Roberts, who joined Ms Robinson as a guest on the podcast, also warned there were many ‘unanswered questions’ about the proposals, particularly around the tax implications of taking a lump sum payment.