BSE Inquiry/UK

[Guest guest]

Headline: GUMMER `UNAWARE' OF BEEF HEALTH WORRY

Wire Service: PA (PA News)

Date: Tue, Dec 8, 1998

Copyright 1998 PA News. Copying, storing, redistribution, retransmission,

publication, transfer or commerical exploitation of this information is

expressly forbidden.

By Eileen , PA News

Former Conservative Agriculture Minister Gummer today told the BSE

inquiry he was unaware of any public health implications from eating offal

during the crisis despite his predecessor backing scientific opinion that

there was cause for concern.

The inquiry investigating the mad cow disease outbreak heard that the

minister's predecessor Macgregor had made it clear to ministerial

colleagues that he backed the views of the Chief Veterinary Officer

Meldrum who believed that offal should be banned from human consumption to

protect public health.

Giving evidence to the London inquiry today Mr Gummer, who in the midst

of the crisis proclaimed that beef was safe and fed a burger to his

daughter Cordelia, said that he became Secretary of State for Agriculture

in July 1989.

This was seven months after the Southwood Committee delivered the first

government report on BSE and how to deal with the crisis.

By this point, three years after BSE had been recognised in the UK, the

number of confirmed cases in cattle was 5,000.

The Southwood report suggested a ban on offal despite stating that it

was unlikely humans could catch BSE.

Mr Gummer said today he was not aware of any scientific evidence at the

time that showed such a ban was urgent or necessary.

He said: " I'm quite sure that the advice we were given was based

entirely on the Southwood report in which the professor had specifically

examined the issue. "

The offal ban had already been announced by the previous ministerial

team but Mr Gummer said that although it was his job to implement the

legislation he did not feel a sense of urgency about it, despite the rising

numbers of BSE cases.

He said: " The offal ban had, of course, not been asked for. On the other

hand it was something we had determined to do. "

The former minister explained that one constraining factor to speeding

up the introduction of the ban was the need for consultation.

He said that he did not believe the ban was " essential for public

health " and added that when he took over his ministerial position it was

summertime when a lot of local authorities whom he must consult, were on

holiday.

Asked if he might have moved quicker if he thought that there was a

serious risk to public health he added: " All I can say is that was not put

to me. In fact the opposite was put to me. I saw this as a two belt and

braces procedure. "

But Mr Gummer agreed that if legislation was seen as urgent there was

often room to " find a way through. "

In fact, the offal ban was not introduced until November 1989 -- 10

months after the Southwood report suggested it.

The inquiry heard that evidence given by the Chief Veterinary Officer Mr

Meldrum had shown that he felt that an offal ban was necessary and

supported by scientific evidence.

But the former minister said he had been unaware of his senior

officials' views on the ban and he believed that Mr Meldrum agreed with the

Southwood report fully.

Mr Gummer's former colleague at the Ministry of Agriculture,

McLean, added that his view at the time was that the Southwood report was

" the Bible " on BSE.

Yet Mr Gummer's predecessor, Macgregor, had told colleagues that

he supported Mr Meldrum's opinion that the government needed to go further

than the recommendations of Southwood to deal with BSE.

Mr Gummer said that he had never seen any correspondence showing such

opinions or received any briefings from either man where they had shared

these views.