Food and farming minister Jeff Rooker is set to stand
down from government, Farmers Weekly has
learnt.
In a cabinet reshuffle expected on Friday, Lord Rooker will
leave his position as DEFRA
minister for sustainable food and farming and animal health, a
position he has held since 2006.
He was originally made minister at the Ministry of Agriculture,
Fisheries and Food in 1997.
A source close to Farmers Weekly said Lord Rooker had
"had enough" of DEFRA secretary Hilary Benn's "indecision" over
food and farming issues.
He was rumoured to have offered his resignation after Benn
announced his decision
not to allow a badger cull to control the rising bovine TB
problem in England.
The reshuffle is also expected to see Benn leave his position as
DEFRA secretary, a move which will delight much of the agricultural
industry.
Ed Miliband, brother of former DEFRA secretary David Miliband,
has been rumoured as a possible replacement.
