NEW Zealand is a spectacularly pretty country. It’s also, I know from researching the Scottish diaspora, the country with the highest percentage of emigrant Scots.

Despite those historic links, it’s not a key trading partner for Scotland. Moreover, the trade deal struck with New Zealand by the Tory Government has rightly caused anger and fear in farming circles. The NFU have been scathing and the threat to both food standards and our own farmers and crofters is considerable. East Lothian businesses suffering from lost trade with Europe aren’t going to get salvation from deals with the Antipodes.

The suggestion by the International Trade Secretary that UK consumers will now benefit from more “Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc, Manuka honey and kiwi fruit” was laughable. Maybe it’s the circles the Tory Minister moves in but, for the rest of us, they’re not a replacement for basic products missing from the empty shelves in our supermarkets.

For farmers and consumers, this deal follows on from the Australian one and undermines protections enforced here – and most importantly stabs our farmers and crofters in the back. What a deal with the USA might bring is frightening.

As well as foisting a hard Brexit on us, the Tory Government is now threatening the UK’s international reputation with its attitude to the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).

Governments often don’t like the decisions of the European Court of Justice. I’ve had experience when in office and it can be awkward and difficult. But it’s a necessary failsafe. Citizens must have the right to challenge their government and appeal to the courts who can ultimately decide if fundamental rights have been breached. Moreover, politicians mustn’t be able to pick and choose which rights they accept and which international court decisions they’ll adhere to. Yet that’s precisely what the Tory Justice Secretary is now seeking to do. It’s wrong and worrying.