Farmers have “had enough” and are preparing to bring their tractors into central London for a massive protest next month in a clear signal to Sir Keir Starmer, an industry leader has said.

Liz Webster, the founder of Save British Farming and a farmer herself, was speaking at a time of rising anger at sweeping changes to the rules governing inheritance tax.

She said it came as the last straw after a series of body blows which the industry has suffered in recent years.

Rules being introduced from next April mean inherited agricultural assets worth more than £1m, which were previously exempt, will be liable to IHT at 20%, half the usual rate.

The National Farmers Union (NFU) vehemently disputes Treasury claims that just 500 farms across the UK will be impacted, claiming the true figure is much higher.

And Ms Webster, who helped organise a mass tractor protest in Dover this week, agreed.

She told Express.co.uk: “There was an election, they made promises. And we’ve had more competent lying, but bigger lying from Keir Starmer.

“The inheritance tax and the other assaults that have come through the Budget have given more for us to feel really angry about. We’re fed up and we’ve had enough.

“We will be going to London on December 11, starting at Spitalfields, and we’re calling on all farmers to come and join us in their vehicles on that day.”

Ms Webster continued: “We’ve had five years of low standard and illegal imports flooding in to Britain. Our exports are facing pettyfogging bureaucracy, and it’s putting a lot of people, particularly those growing fruit and vegetables, out of business.

“And then we’ve had the rug pulled from under our feet, with the basic payment scheme (BPS) being removed faster and steeper, the attack on our vehicles with a tax grab and and then a change in the inheritance tax, which will catch most farms, but they keep telling us it won’t because they’re relying on dodgy data.”

She explained: “They’re looking at farms which are registered at farms which are ‘faux farms’. They’re a farmhouse probably owned by a lawyer who uses it for weekends and has got 20 acres, so they’re not farms.”

It was a problem which should concern everyone because it related to food security, Ms Webster stressed.

She continued: “There are empty shelves at Morrisons at the moment, they’re saying it’s a technical glitch, but I really wouldn’t be surprised if it’s because of the storms in Spain and Morocco. We know that these shortages are coming.

“The previous government allowed our greenhouses to close, and they allowed our fertilisers plants to close.

“There is no responsible plan for food security and food supply. They’re winging it and this is incredibly dangerous.”

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These changes, which some have dubbed the “tractor tax”, could lead to the consolidation of farmland by corporate entities like BlackRock, which have the financial capacity to acquire large swathes of rural properties, undermining traditional family farming models, she emphasised.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer met with Tom Bradshaw, the leader of the National Farmers’ Union (NFU), in bid to allay his concerns earlier this week.

Afterwards, a No 10 spokesman said: “They had a wide-ranging conversation in which the Prime Minister recognised the strength of feeling about the changes to agricultural property relief set out in the Budget and listened to the NFU’s concerns.”

“In the meeting, they discussed the Government’s commitments to solidly protecting the interests of British farmers including in trade negotiations and in public sector procurement, as well as working together to ensure environmental land management schemes deliver for farmers.

“We will always meet with key stakeholders to hear their views, as that is what a serious, grown-up government does.”