Farming leaders today welcomed a £200 million Government pledge as a sign of Tony Blair's commitment to the industry.

But opponents have claimed the aid package is not enough.

The support was announced by the Prime Minister following a Downing Street summit attended by Easingwold-based NFU leader Ben Gill and other farming figures.

The package includes compensation pay-outs for dairy, beef and sheep farmers, support for hill farmers and a three-year package for pig farmers.

Mr Gill said: "I believe the Prime Minister deserves recognition for these measures."

But the Government's efforts have been attacked by Tory parliamentary candidate for Scarborough and Whitby John Sykes.

He said the summit had allowed only 75 minutes for discussion of the worst farming crisis in living memory.

He said: "The Conservative Party believes that Britain's farmers need changes in policy and not photo opportunities. Farmers need real solutions to the problems they face. The Labour Government seems to think that, with a photo shoot here and a little spin there, the crisis will go away."

But Tony Blair's work was welcomed by pig farmers.

John Godfrey, chairman of the National Pig Association, said: "We welcome this personal show of support by Mr Blair for the standards set by our industry and its efforts in meeting consumer demands. We look forward to his continued involvement in the plans and the necessary investment to move the industry out of crisis."

An NPA spokeswoman said the support had prompted discussions about the future of a 24-hour vigil outside the House of Commons, started in February in protest of the farming crisis. She said an announcement could be expected soon.

And Countryside Alliance chief executive Richard Burge said the Conservative Party had to share blame for the crisis. He said: "These problems were building up from fundamental flaws in the industry which the Conservative administration could simply ignore because the economic climate at the time hid the symptoms."

Ryedale's Tory MP John Greenway today described the package as "the best news farmers have had for two years or more".

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