Scots get off nearly scot free

The European Union has clawed back £223 million from member states for non-compliance with rules or inadequate controls on agricultural expenditure.

Scotland's half-million-pound penalty - mostly for inaccuracies in livestock numbers or land acreages - pales into insignificance when compared with the 150m taken from the English CAP budget, mostly for failings in its Area Payments scheme. The Northern Irish authorities have to pay back 28m for weaknesses in their use of sanctions.