'Reluctant' Tory whose protest is fuelled by anger and frustration

WIind, rain and occasional sleet sweep across David Handley's farmyard. The sign outside Old Llanishen Farm says it is the home of the Govan herd of pedigree Jerseys. It is also home to the chairman of the People's Fuel Lobby.

WIind, rain and occasional sleet sweep across David Handley's farmyard. The sign outside Old Llanishen Farm says it is the home of the Govan herd of pedigree Jerseys. It is also home to the chairman of the People's Fuel Lobby.

At the turn of the year Mr Handley, 48, was just another dairy farmer with almost as many debts as cows. But in the past few days the Welshman, who has taken the helm of the fuel protest, has been prominent in the media as the campaign heads towards a collision with Tony Blair's Government.

Mr Handley has made it clear that if the Prime Minister does not make concessions by the time the 60-day deadline expires on 13 November they will renew country-wide demonstrations. In a pre-emptive attack, the Government has warned of anarchy and the deaths of young and elderly people if the protests go ahead.

But the turbulent farmer who has vowed to plague the Government for "as long as it takes" to win a cut in fuel taxes believes such predictions of doom and gloom are a necessary evil in what he sees as a battle for commercial survival.

David and Marilyn Handley have been farming Old Llanishen's 88 acres, near Usk in South Wales, since 1981. They have no children. Five dogs scamper through the farmhouse and 122 prize cows graze in the fields.

As he sits in the parlour of the tidy pink farmhouse he rents from Monmouthshire County Council, Mr Handley denies that he and his fellow protesters are making unreasonable demands. There are no plans for blockades, no food blockades, he said. "The one thing I totally condemn is talk of blocking food distribution centres, going back to the refineries, going to railway lines, the national grid and all that sort of talk. I'm a family man, my parents are old-age pensioners and I am concerned about every pensioner in the country."

He also disputes allegations that they are not prepared to negotiate. "What has to be made perfectly clear is that the 26.2p off a gallon of petrol we ask for is a figure that would give us parity with Europe. But it is a negotiating figure. My personal view is that if we could start talking around 10p off, then I will be happy."

What motivated him to start protesting? "What started it all was the sheer frustration. The debts began to mount because of the crisis in the industry. Basically my income has fallen by 50 per cent, and in any business where your income falls 50 per cent and your costs keep rising, there is going to be a major problem.

Mr Handley told a House of Commons select committee earlier this week that from 1997 the BSE crisis had driven him into debts of £50,000. He claimed he only received £1 a day in agricultural compensation. Court records show 22 County Court judgments against the Handleys since 1995 for a total of about £29,000. Only one for £320 is registered as satisfied.

Mr Handley said defensively: "Debts do involve County Court judgments. They are for bills I couldn't pay, foodstuff and things like that. We are paying the debts as fast as we can, but the income is dropping."

He has been branded "a silly fuel" on the front pages. But David Handley is no fool. He might be staring at bankruptcy, speak with a country burr and describe himself as a simple countryman, but this is no Eddie Grundy figure. Mr Handley has an articulate passion born of desperation. A fellow protester, Tom Houghton, 41, a farm manager from Sandbach in Cheshire, said: "David has a passion for the farming industry. He is an honest man and I'm 100 per cent behind him on farming issues."

But Mr Handley's high profile in the past week has split the protest movement. Many protesters prefer the less zealous approach of Brynle Williams, also a Welsh farmer.

Clive Swan, one of the leaders of the original Stanlow refinery protest, said: "Handley has been getting dangerous in the last couple of days. He is wearing too many hats. In North Wales we say what affects us here. Other people speak of what affects them. That way we sing from the heart. I don't know if he is in it for his own ends or what."

Some have suggested that Mr Handley is a Conservative and wants to bring down the Labour Government. He says he voted Tory reluctantly.

He also denies there is any rift with Brynle Williams' camp. "There has been talk of a rift, but there is no rift. He is going his way and we are going our way. But the aim is the same - a cut in fuel tax."

He is clear about the next move in the protest. "Where we go from here is very simple. I hope that before 8 November they will look to do something to cut fuel tax right across the board for everyone, we want no special deals. If they don't do that by 8 November, we are going to have a peaceful protest in London on 14 November. It will be perfectly within the law to show Mr Blair that if he won't come to us, we'll go to him. Our message is: 'Please talk to us'."