Rachel Reeves has been warned that her planned tax raid on family farms risks endangering Britain’s food security and emboldening enemies like Vladimir Putin.

Conservative MPs have issued the attack as the latest criticism of the Government’s so-called ‘tractor tax’, which will clobber farms worth over £1 million with 20% inheritance tax.

Amid warnings it could see an end to Britain’s long history of family farming, Conservative MP Saqib Bhatti is now arguing the move will strengthen enemies like President Putin and China’s Xi Jinping.

Writing in The Express, the Meriden MP points out that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has already proven how crucial food security is, with the subsequent spike in prices of everyday commodities like bread.

He blasts that the tractor tax “will put enormous pressure on our food security and push up the price of food on the shelves”.

Tory MPs are warning that Putin will be strengthened by the tax grab (Image: Getty)

“The war in Ukraine has underlined the importance of food security. We saw the price of food in the supermarkets rise after Putin’s invasion which put added pressures on those on the lowest incomes. Let me be clear, this disastrous policy makes Britain weaker and makes Putin and Xi Jin Ping stronger.”

He was joined by fellow Conservative MP Jerome Mayhew, who warned that while the government claims it is committed to nature recovery and food security, “actions speak louder than words”.

“The [Agricultural property relief (APR)] change will hurt family farms, many fatally; the same farms that we rely on to meet our environmental aspirations.

“And for family farms that survive these APR changes, this is only the start.

“The government looks set to cut the nature-friendly farming budget next year, which is vital for rewarding farmers for conserving nature alongside producing high-quality food.”

The NFU have agreed that the policy threatens Britain’s food security (Image: Getty)

Harriet Cross MP added: “The Budget showed, if we needed more proof, that the Chancellor and this Labour Government either don’t care, don’t understand, or both, about our farmers or our rural communities.”

“Family farmers are invaluable custodians of our countryside. For generations they have contributed to our nations food security and land stewardship, provided employment opportunities, have supported local supply chains and brought rural communities together.

“The changes to Agricultural Property Relief, this family farm tax, is the wrong tax, aimed at the wrong target and at the wrong time.”

The concerns about Britain’s food security have now been echoed by the National Farmer’s Union, with president Tom Bradshaw telling this paper that there is now “a very real threat to our long-term food security because there is no incentive to invest for the future.”

Mr Bradshaw blasted: “The shameless breaking of promises on Agricultural Property Relief will snatch away much of the next generation’s ability to carry on producing British food, plan for the future and shepherd the environment.”

“It’s clear the government does not understand that family farms are not only small farms, and that just because a farm is a valuable asset it doesn’t mean those who work it are wealthy.

“Let’s not sugar-coat this, every penny the Chancellor saves from this will come directly from the next generation having to break-up their family farm.

“If farms are being broken up and sold, British food will be hit.”

In a further attack on the policy, MP Neil Shastri-Hurst has also warned that Ms Reeves could end up breaking the law if the erosion of family farms hits the Government’s legal obligation to halt Britain’s nature loss by 2030.

He argued that while farmers are committed and knowledgeable about their land, this hinges on being able to pass their land from generation to generation, and the loss of family farms puts Britain’s re-wilding policy at risk.

He added: “We should be protecting them and properly incentivising sustainable farming by protecting the agricultural budget, not raiding them to raise revenue for the Treasury.”

Labour’s manifesto said the party “recognises that food security is national security”, pledging to champion British farming.

This claim was also dealt a body blow by the boss of Sainsbury’s on Thursday, who argued that the tax raid in fact threatens food security and will harm the UK’s ability to grow its own food.

Ms Reeves has insisted that more than 70% of farms will not have to pay the tax, as in practice only farms worth more than £3 million will be affected.

However the NFU has said this is not the case, and instead two-thirds of farms are at risk of being clobbered by the raid.