Montgomeryshire's MP has insisted that there will be no compromise on food safety standards after he faced criticism for voting against a piece of legislation enshrining such a principal in UK law.

Mr Williams and his fellow Powys MP Fay Jones both voted against an amendment to the Agriculture Bill which passed a third reading in Parliament last week.

The amendment was supported by NFU Cymru, and said the bill should only allow imports of food if the standards under which it was produced "were as high as, or higher than, standards which at the time of import applied under UK law".

The Liberal Democrats in Wales have attacked the MPs for voting against the amendment, but Mr Williams denied that it would lead to Britain welcoming poor quality imported food.

"All of the Welsh Conservative MPs who voted against the amendment, 'New Clause 2', represent highly rural constituencies, many of us with personal or family connections to the agriculture sector ourselves," he said.

"We will always have the best interest of the agriculture sector at heart. This criticism seems to be a hangover of the Brexit debate, as some sadly do not want or like us seeking our own new trade deals.

"To be absolutely clear:

  • "The UK Government will not compromise on our high environmental and food safety standards – this includes retaining the ban on chlorine-washed chicken and hormone-injected beef. (This ban has already been retained in British law, carried over from when we left the EU.)
  • "There will be no trade deal, with any country, that will result in changes to our domestic standards."

He said World Trade Organisation rules mean that the UK can reject imported food that doesn't conform to its own sanitary standards, but that it could not dictate other countries' production standards.

"By the same token, we will not allow other countries to alter our domestic standards through these trade deals," he said.

"These standards have been built up over many years and have the trust of the public and the world. In fact, I believe that it is exactly this unique selling point from which our farmers will benefit in new export markets.

"If ‘New Clause 2’ had passed on Wednesday, it would have put any future trade agreement – including with the EU, from which farmers in Montgomeryshire would stand to benefit from huge new export opportunities – in severe jeopardy."

Jane Dodds, Welsh Liberal Democrat Leader and former MP for Brecon & Radnorshire, said: “I am incredibly disappointed that both Powys MPs voted against this crucial amendment. Passing it would have protected Welsh farmers from low-standard food imports and shown that we truly back our farmers.

“The Conservatives can try and spin it all they want, but NFU Cymru and many others supported the amendment and what it was trying to achieve. By refusing to vote for it, Ms Jones and Mr Williams have left farmers across Powys vulnerable and uncertain about the future."