BSE crisis cost 1bn in first year

13 March 1998

BSE crisis cost £1bn in first year

THE BSE crisis cost the UK economy almost £1 billion in its first year, according to a Government report released today (Friday). But government support helped cushion the country from the full financial impact.

The report estimates that the net loss to the economy was between £740 million and £980 million after the government admitted a probable link between BSE and its human equivalent, Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease.