Butchers to plead not guiltyover bone-in beef ban

04 June 1998

Butchers to plead not guilty
over bone-in beef ban

By FWi staff

THE first two butchers to be prosecuted in England under the Governments beef-on-the-bone ban will plead not guilty when they appear in court tomorrow.

Dejon Terry, 29, and David Clarke, 41, are accused of selling forerib of beef on the bone when their Milton Keynes shops were raided by environmental health officers in February and March.

Dr Jack Cunningham, agriculture minister, introduced the unpopular ban in December last year amid widespread criticism.

Both men will enter their pleas before Milton Keynes magistrates and elect for a crown court trial.

In a rebuff for turning the ban into a public relations disaster, some political analysts believe Dr Cunningham could lose his ministerial post when Prime Minister Tony Blair reshuffles his Cabinet next month.