WEST Somerset MP Ian Liddell-Grainger has urged constituents to get behind a campaign to persuade supermarkets to make it easier to buy British food online.

He is one of more than 100 MPs now pressing retailers to add a ‘Buy British’ button to their websites.

A supporting petition launched by the NFU has already collected more than 15,000 signatures in the space of three days.

On Wednesday (September 13) as farming leaders met MPs and peers in Westminster, Mr Liddell-Grainger said it was vital for the public to show their support for the campaign.

He said: “Wherever I go I meet people who say they want to buy more British produce but who often find it very difficult to do so.

“Partly, this is down to the fact that we now import nearly half our food, partly it is because the retailers themselves do not go out of their way to flag up and promote British produce, even though they are perfectly free to do so now we are free of EU regulations.”

Mr Liddell-Grainger said he wanted to see public opinion harnessed to demand better and easier access to British products.

He said: “The demands of consumers carry far more weight than the views of MPs.

“Given that so many people have continued to shop online as they did during the pandemic, and give that the technology exists to provide direct, clear access to British goods for the online customer, it should not take very many more signatories to the petition to get the supermarkets to fall into line with the public’s wishes.”

Mr Liddell-Grainger attended a reception in Parliament hosted by the NFU for Back British Farming Day to celebrate farming values and highlight the role farmers played in feeding the nation as well as contributing to rural communities and wider society.