No-deal Brexit: '45,000 dairy cows could be culled' - BBC Newsnight

Some 45,000 dairy cows could be culled in Northern Ireland, in the event of a no-deal Brexit if new higher tariffs are applied to British milk, senior industry figures have warned.

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Northern Ireland is particularly vulnerable because about a third of its dairy output is processed in the Republic of Ireland, which would continue to be part of the EU.

The UK is due to leave the EU on 31 October and one source said the culling of cattle could start within weeks of that date if that happened without the UK and EU agreeing a deal.

Newsnight has been told that officials and ministers from the Department for the Environment, Farming and Rural Affairs (Defra), have been warned about the potential for a "major cull of dairy cattle, but they are not listening".

In a statement Defra said: "A widespread cull of livestock is absolutely not something that the government anticipates nor is planning for in the event of no-deal. We will always back Britain and Northern Ireland's great farmers and make sure that Brexit works for them. The government is boosting its preparations to ensure we are fully prepared to leave the EU on 31 October, whatever the circumstances."

UK correspondent Elizabeth Glinka reports and in the studio Emma Barnett is joined by former Defra minister Robert Goodwill MP and Justin King, former CEO of Sainsbury's.

Newsnight is the BBC's flagship news and current affairs TV programme - with analysis, debate, exclusives, and robust interviews.