Farmers furious as Liz Truss refuses to attend rural hustings event

Conservative leadership frontrunner Liz Truss will be “empty chaired” by farmers after she refused to turn up at a hustings event on rural issues organised by union leaders.

The National Farmers’ Union (NFU) is furious at Truss’s decision to snub the invitation to address members on Friday, at event which will be attended by her Tory rival Rishi Sunak.

It comes as Truss faces criticism from environment secretary George Eustice, who suggested that she did not protect animal welfare standards in post-Brexit trade deals.