THE UK Government has been accused of “misappropriating” hundreds of millions of pounds of European farming subsidies destined for Scotland.

Fergus Ewing, the Scottish Government’s Rural Economy Secretary, has demanded that £160 million of funding is returned north of the Border, arguing it was only awarded by the EU to address lower payment rates for farmers in Scotland.

The long-running dispute over the subsidies began in 2013, when the European Commission allocated the UK an extra £190 million of funding over six years for direct farm payments. The money – known as convergence uplift – was aimed at addressing the low area payments received by Scottish farmers under the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP).

However, the UK Government decided all four home nations would receive the same proportion of the CAP budget as they did previously, meaning Scotland has only been allocated £30 million of the extra cash.

In a statement at Holyrood, Ewing told MSPs: “The EU clearly intended this extra convergence money to go to those farmers who received the least, but this purpose was subverted by the UK Government who held on to the money simply because they had the power to do so.

“Now, I don’t need to tell you that wrongly holding on to someone else’s property is well recognised in criminal law. In this case, the withholding of funds could be done simply because the UK, as member state, receives the money and has complete control of how it is allocated.”

Ewing continued: “The EU clearly intended this money to go to the farmers who receive the least amount of support, yet the UK has simply pocketed the money. Frankly, the money should be returned.

“This demand is not against farmers in other parts of the UK. It is about setting a baseline for future agricultural funding with the UK.

“Unless the UK Government returns the money, how can we rely on them to treat our farmers fairly in Brexit negotiations and future funding discussions?”

The call came amid reports that UK Environment Secretary Michael Gove is poised to review the allocation of the cash.

Opposition parties at Holyrood, including the Tories, also called for the money to come to Scottish farmers. Tory MSP Peter Chapman said: “We on the Conservative benches are still supportive of the fact that this money should have come to Scotland, and I have personally raised the issue with [Scottish Secretary] David Mundell, [Rural Affairs Minister]George Eustice and Michael Gove over the last 18 months or so.”

He said Tory MPs had written to Gove asking him to review the issue, with the request being “well received” by the Minister. “I am now very hopeful of a successful outcome to this question,” Chapman said.

Scottish Labour’s Rhoda Grant said: “He [Ewing] is right in saying this money was received by the UK to deal with the low average payment rate received by Scottish farmers.”

A Defra spokeswoman said: “We have received the letter from Alister Jack MP [the Tory MP for Dumfries and Galloway] and will respond in due course.”

Earlier this year fears emerged that Scots farmers could lose out on €2 billion of funding if EU subsidies are replaced by a single UK-wide scheme post Brexit.