FORMER NFU Cymru president Peredur Hughes is to oversee Cardiff's forthcoming review of farming red tape. The Anglesey producer, currently the regional board chairman in Wales for NFU Mutual, will act as an external advisor as the Assembly Government attempts to cut paperwork for farmers.

By Fordyce Maxwell Rural Affairs Editor AN NFU Scotland-inspired action group has been formed to fight the red tape that union vice-president Jim McLaren claims is threatening thousands of farmers with "constructive dismissal".

It is time to accept that environmental policies which increasingly favour regulation over motivation are not working, the Country Land and Business Association (CLA) claimed, as it began its campaign to cut red tape and establish the UK as a leader in environmentally sensitive land management.