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Tractors seized during London farmer protest

Philip Case 27 November 2025
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© Olly Harrison© Olly Harrison

A last-minute Whitehall tractor ban on Wednesday’s Budget day protest caused confusion, disruption, and two vehicle seizures, leaving farmers questioning why long-planned arrangements were overturned hours before the demonstration.

Farmers Weekly understands two tractors were forcibly removed after the Metropolitan Police abruptly refused permission for them to park on Whitehall – a plan that had been in place for weeks – as Chancellor Rachel Reeves delivered her second Budget speech.

One seizure was captured in a widely shared video posted on X by Merseyside farmer and YouTuber Olly Harrison. The clip shows a Fendt Vario 720 tractor being driven onto a low loader by a recovery firm outside Canada House, near Trafalgar Square.

See also: Defiant farmers flood into London after tractor ban

Mr Harrison, who witnessed the incident, said he sympathised with Met officers under pressure from “powers above them”.

He told Farmers Weekly: “The recovery company turned up with equipment that was unsuitable to lift the Fendt Vario tractor onto the low loader.

“After what seemed like a very long pantomime, the tractor owner, not wanting his machine damaged, offered to drive it on the low loader himself. But the police were not happy with that so the recovery company workers drove it on themselves.”

He described the episode as an “absolute farce”, adding that it was “just a battle of wills to show they could do it, but in reality they couldn’t.”

The tractor owner, from Exeter, now faces a £450 release fee to retrieve his vehicle from a police compound.

Logic questioned

Mr Harrison, who has helped organise previous farmer protests in London, questioned the logic of the Whitehall ban.

“What was supposed to be an organised farmer protest with minimum disruption turned into gridlocking the capital and probably cost the police and taxpayers 10 times more money to police,” he said.

“There were three police helicopters in the air at one point hovering above Whitehall – just to save Rachel Reeves the embarrassment of walking past some tractors on her way to work.”

A Met Police spokesman said: “Officers attended a protest organised by farmers on Wednesday 26 November in Westminster.

“Conditions were put in place to prevent protestors bringing vehicles, including tractors, due to the serious disruption they may cause. The vast majority complied, however there were two arrests for breach of conditions, and one tractor was seized for causing an obstruction.”

Policing contrast

Berkshire farmer Colin Rayner, who welcomed more than 100 tractors to muster at Berkyn Manor Farm, Horton, said he noticed a stark difference in policing compared to previous farmer protests in London.

“There was a huge contrast between the Met officers who helped us park in Trafalgar Square and some of those brought in from other forces to police the protest,” he said. “I felt some of these officers were unnecessarily aggressive towards farmers.”

The Met Police said several people were arrested for “refusing to comply with the conditions”, prompting Reform UK leader Nigel Farage to call the action “outrageous” and offer legal support to those arrested.

Serious questions remain

Questions remain over who authorised the Whitehall tractor ban.

In a video posted on X, Shadow Defra secretary and Conservative MP Victoria Atkins criticised the last-minute tractor ban, saying it “doesn’t smell right” and adding: “We’re going to try to find out what’s gone on, why the Met changed its mind so suddenly… We need answers.”

The Met Police insists restrictions were imposed due to “serious disruption”, while No 10, HM Treasury and Defra have not responded to questions from Farmers Weekly about any possible ministerial involvement.

The Mayor of London’s office said only: “This is a matter for the police.”

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