Slow-moving tractor convoy descends on central London during rush hour: More than 100 furious farmers threaten to cause gridlock in capital as they assemble in Westminster for angry protest over government support

By RORY TINGLE, HOME AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT FOR MAILONLINE and KATHERINE LAWTON

A huge army of tractors have descended on London during evening rush hour today to protest against 'substandard imports and dishonest labelling' that farms warn are threatening food security.

The campaign groups Save British Farming and Fairness for Farmers of Kent have assembled for a 'go-slow' convoy and drive around Westminster which started at 6pm - with organisers expecting as many as 100 tractors as well as other farm vehicles. 

As the tractors reached Westminster this evening, police had to push back the crowds spilling onto the road to show their support, holding banners and cheering. 

Liz Webster, one of the organisers of the protest, said farmers were 'making history' today, adding: 'This is the beginning of something that is building and we are not going to stop until we get what we need.' 

Convoys of tractors have been seen across London waving Union flags and holding signs reading 'no farmers, no food, no future'. Fortunately for their drivers, specialist agricultural vehicles are exempt from Sadiq Khan's £12.50 ULEZ charge.

Protesters - who gathered in New Covent Garden Market in Nine Elms - are raising concerns over the increasing difficulties faced by the British farming industry that they say are leaving the nation's food security at risk.

They are calling for an end to trade deals which they say are allowing imports of food produced to standards that would be illegal in the UK and undercutting British farmers.

Farmers are taking part in a tractor 'go-slow' in central London to raise awareness of the difficulties for the British farming industry