ONE OF Britain’s richest men, the Duke of Buccleuch, has emerged as a leading recipient of European Union farming subsidies — picking up more than £1m in state handouts in the past two years.

A spokesman for the duke — the country’s largest private landowner — confirmed last week that his company, Buccleuch Estates, had directly received nearly £700,000 of subsidies in 2004 and £592,000 in 2003. In addition, his 200 tenant farmers had collected estimated payouts of £50,000 each, totalling more than £10m over the past two years.

Last week others with substantial landholdings also revealed the EU farming subsidies they had received. A spokesman for Lord Iliffe, who produces nearly 5,000 tons of wheat a year on his Berkshire estate, confirmed he had received government grants of £353,519 in 2003, the most recent year for which figures were available.

The subsidies paid out to some of the wealthiest private landowners in Britain have been fiercely criticised by charities, including Oxfam. It says the system is unfair on smaller farmers and on competing producers overseas and has called for a cap of £50,000 on individual payouts.

The subsidies paid to Britain’s farmers have traditionally been kept secret, but The Sunday Times has made an application to the government for the amounts to be revealed under the new Freedom of Information Act. The government is due to rule on the application later this month, but some landowners are already disclosing the information.

The Sunday Times has obtained details of subsidies across the country. The counties claiming the most in 2003 were North Yorkshire with £121m, Lincolnshire with £113m and Devon with £84m.

One of the farming companies to collect the highest subsidies is Farmcare, part of the Co-operative Group — under the Common Agricultural Policy it received £2.7m in 2004 and £2.8m in 2003.

Richard Williamson, director of communications for Buccleuch Estates, said the subsidy did not go “into the duke’s pocket, but into farming operations. Most of it goes to tenant farmers who are living a hand-to-mouth existence”.

The duke, who has an estimated personal fortune of £55m, has four country estates. The most recent accounts for Buccleuch show profits of more than £28m in 2003.

Another substantial private landowner, the Duke of Westminster, is also due to reveal the amount of EU subsidy he receives.

Phil Bloomer, head of advocacy for Oxfam, said: “Taxpayers have for many years been paying huge amounts of money to some of the country’s wealthiest landowners. These people have claimed what they have been entitled to, but the process has never been transparent. It is important that all of this information is now released.”

Lord Whitty, the farming minister, announced in January that when a new system of EU subsidies is introduced this year, he wants them published. However, some farmers are opposed to this. The Country Land and Business Association has written to Richard Thomas, the information commissioner, opposing any block publication of the subsidies.

Additional reporting: Holly Watt

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