West Devon and Torridge MP Geoffrey Cox has called for the resignation of Margaret Beckett, the former Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and now the Foreign Secretary. Mr Cox said 'sorry is not good enough' in respect of the chaos over payments to farmers by the Rural Payment Agency. He told the Times: 'The disaster in administration denied farmers an estimated £22-million, forcing many to seek high interest short-term loans to stave off insolvency and others to leave the industry. The Government now faces being fined to the tune of at least £305-million from the EU for failing to meet its deadlines.' His comments come as the influential cross-party EFRA Select Committee, of which he is a member, published a report calling for those responsible for last year's Single Farm Payments fiasco to be held to account. Mr Cox said: 'While this report will do little to compensate the tens of thousands of farmers who have been deeply affected by the Government's incompetence, it rightly calls for the resignation of the Ministers and officials responsible. 'Mistakes were clearly made, warnings were not heeded and it is only right that those in charge take responsibility for their actions. 'It used to be that such comprehensive failure would result in an abrupt end to a ministerial career. This no longer seems to be the case. Instead, to the incredulity of those living with the consequences of her decisions, Margaret Beckett was promoted to Foreign Secretary. 'Politicians cannot devolve the responsibilities for failure to officials, nor should the public be forced to accept platitudes and empty statements of responsibility which are not matched by deeds. 'The impact of this ineptitude is still being keenly felt throughout the farming community. It is high time those responsible pay the price for the savage effects on farming families that they have caused.'
