THE BRITISH taxpayer faces a bill of almost £300 million in EU fines for failing to pay farm subsidies on time; it was claimed by Euro MPs yesterday. And the cause of the blunder: the "calamitous failure" of former Defra secretary Margaret Beckett.

It has been wide reported that political interference by Mrs Beckett delayed subsidy payments by the body she crated, the Rural Payments Agency, which descended into shambles, forcing tens of thousands of farmers to the point of bankruptcy.

Eventually, the RPA chief executive was sacked - but Tony Blair promoted Mrs Beckett to the role of Foreign Secretary, a move which brought gasps of amazement from political observers.

But yesterday, it emerged that Britain had already paid £63 million in fines to the EU for the delay - and the final bill, expected in two months time, is estimated to be £292 million.

Conservative Euro MPs in Brussels then issued angry statement condemning Mrs Beckett's "calamitous failure." Former farmer Neil Parrish, chairman of the European Parliament's agriculture committee, blazed:

"British farmers are still recovering from calamitous failures at Defra that led to so many farmers receiving their payments excessively late. Margaret Beckett introduced a complex system for making payments against all the advice being offered.

"While there has been widespread incompetence, the main reasons for the delay were poor Ministerial decisions. Unfortunately, while the EU is justified to impose these fines, current evidence suggests the Treasury will pay for them by cutting Defra's budget.

"If Defra is to make cutbacks, perhaps it should begin by halting the huge number of officials on vast salaries. British farmers will be incensed to hear the department's bureaucracy has bulged at a time when its frontline services are to be substantially cut."

It was also revealed that the number of Defra civil servants earning more than £100,000 a year has increased in five years from eight to 25 whilst these troubles have been underway - a figure that will incense Yorkshire Dales hill farmers who are lucky to make profits of £5,000 a year. Many are in fact running at a loss.