TONY BLAIR and Gordon Brown mounted a joint assault on the Common Agricultural Policy yesterday with the Prime Minister suggesting for the first time that Britain’s ultimate objective was to scrap it.

In remarks that raised the temperature in advance of Britain’s presidency of the EU, which starts tomorrow, and the G8 summit next week, the Chancellor attacked the “hypocrisy” of wealthy nations which denied poorer countries access to their markets and a way to trade themselves out of poverty.

Mr Brown used his speech in London to the UN children’s agency, Unicef, to call for the removal of trade distorting subsidies and tackling the waste of the CAP by setting a date for the end of export subsidies.

Mr Brown demanded a “new covenant” between rich and poor countries in which the wealthier helped the capacity of the poorer to trade, while the recipient nations recognised the need to root out corruption and to “open their books” for their people.

Mr Brown was echoing the call of the American Government in the run-up to the Gleneagles summit for aid to tied to good governance.

“This is a call for openness and transparency in developing countries; people able to see where their money is going, who is doing what and why — the way to root out corruption and people and communities empowered to take more control of the decisions that affect their lives and to hold their own governments to account,” the Chancellor said.

“In this way we can move from the old conditionality imposed on developing countries by donors to a new accountability of developing countries to their own people.” Mr Blair’s remarks came in the Commons. Up until now he has spoken of fundamental reform. He told Michael Howard that the rebate would stay as long as the reason for it remained. He then added: “Of course if we get rid of the Common Agricultural Policy and we change the reason why the rebate is there, then the case for the rebate changes.”

His words are certain to heighten tensions with France before a British presidency that will feature a fresh attempt to get agreement on agricultural reform.

Mr Blair’s spokesman made no attempt to retreat from his remarks later and senior officials admitted that if Britain was able to secure its aims, and the demand of G8 finance ministers three weeks ago for a timetable to end export subsidies was met, the CAP in its present form would disappear. Support for farmers would become a matter for national governments and the eastern European countries would be helped through the EU’s structural funds.

Mr Blair’s spokesman said: “We are arguing for a managed process of change in which you maintain sustainable livelihoods in the countryside. But you don’t do so at the expense of distorting world trade.

“Some 80 per cent of the existing CAP budget is directed towards the pre-enlargement 15 member states. That does not allow spending to be prioritised towards providing infrastructure support for the accession countries.”

The traditional concepts of the CAP needed to change. “As traditionally and currently constituted we do not think it meets the needs of the rural economy.” Asked whether the Prime Minister really wanted to get rid of it he said “there is a danger we get hung up on words”. Asked whether Britain wanted to return to a system of national subsidies, he added that he would not get into areas that were a subject for negotiation.

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