- Farmers who have grown genetically modified oil-seed
rape on their land as part of the government's trials have been warned
not to grow conventional oil-seed on the same land this autumn for fear
of contaminating it.
-
- The Department of Environment issued the warning yesterday
to prevent farmers growing crops that might become unsaleable in Britain
because they contained too much GM material.
-
- In a statement the department said research showed that
seeds persisted in the soil in greater quantities than previously thought.
-
- The environment minister, Elliot Morley, said: "There
is concern that seeds remaining in the ground from the GM trial will germinate
and that the harvested crop might exceed the new EU thresholds on GM-free
crops."
-
- Pete Riley, of Friends of the Earth, said: "This
is further proof of the damage that GM crops can cause, and another reason
why the government must not allow them to be commercially grown in the
UK."
-
- Meanwhile the Soil Association has written to the prime
minister asking for an investigation into who threatened a member of the
government's review panel into GM crops.
-
- Andrew Stirling, an expert in science and risk, complained
about being threatened with losing his research budget and professional
standing if he was critical of the technology.
-
- He made a formal complaint to Sir David King, the government's
chief scientist, who is chairman of the review panel. Sir David made the
threat public, describing it as deplorable.
-
- The letter that Dr Stirling wrote to complain about the
threats was due to be published along with the minutes of a committee meeting,
recording its disquiet at the attempt to suppress academic freedom.
-
- But the Department of Trade and Industry vetoed this
claiming the letter came too close to identifying the person who made the
threat and that it may attract a libel action. Dr Stirling made it clear
that the threat was not made by a member of the science review team.
-
- Dr Stirling, who works at the science policy research
unit at Sussex University, has refused to name the person who made the
threat and was "on holiday" yesterday but is known to have insisted
that the undue pressure on him should be made public. His colleagues on
the committee agreed.
-
- The minutes of the last meeting report Sir David as saying
that the committee "depended fundamentally for its success on members
being able to contribute in good faith, without fears that clandestine
attempts may be made to undermine their research, their professional standing
or their funding.
-
- "The cumulative effect of such fears might easily
serve to suppress open discussion, reasoned argument and substantive criticism.
Ultimately, such behaviour by individuals in privileged academic or regulatory
positions threatened seriously to compromise the credibility and proper
functioning of the science advice system. The panel strongly endorsed this."
-
- The panel made its review of scientific research into
GM crops public last Monday without any mention of the threat to Dr Stirling.
-
- It was revealed that another member of the committee,
Professor Carlo Leifert, an organic farming expert, had resigned but no
reason was given.
-
- Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited
2003
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- http://www.guardian.co.uk/gmdebate/Story/0,2763,1006218,00.html
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