UK Environmental Minister in Conflict of Interest Over Farming Subsidies

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — New UK Under Secretary of State at the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Lord John Eric Gardiner is in the conflict of interest over tens of thousand of dollars he receives annually in farm subsidies, international environment watchdog Greenpeace said in a statement Thursday.

Gardiner occupies the post that will allow him to be heavily involved in plans for replacing EU farming support after UK citizens voted to leave the bloc.

"New environment minister Lord Gardiner benefits from thousands of pounds in EU farming subsidies and will now be involved in decisions on the future of the controversial scheme… Gardiner is a partner in CM Robarts & Son, which has received hundreds of thousands of pounds in farm subsidies under the EU’s common agricultural policy, including £105,433 [$138,478] in the last two years alone," the statement reads.

The environmental campaign group accusation comes after the UK National Trust called for a complete overhaul of the current country's farm subsidy scheme, which critics claim rewards land ownership over food production and environmental protection.

On Monday, the group revealed that UK Minister of State at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, George Eustice, also benefits from the farming payments.

The European Union paid UK farmers up to $4 billion a year. On June 23, the United Kingdom held a referendum to determine whether or not the country should leave the European Union. According to the final results, 51.9 percent of voters, or 17.4 million people, decided to support the so-called Brexit, while about 16.1 million opposed it.