Yeo slams lack of full F&M inquiry pledge
Yeo slams lack of full F&M inquiry pledge
LABOURS reluctance to announce a full-scale inquiry into the foot-and-mouth crisis, if it is elected for a second term, has been slammed by the Tory Party.
Shadow farm minister, Tim Yeo, said vague promises of a review were contemptible given the hammer-blow dealt to farmers and the rural economy.
In a letter to farm minister, Nick Brown, Mr Yeo also called for senior government officials to stop blaming farmers for the escalation of F&M. "When Britains Chinese community was the victim of similar attacks, the minister quite rightly condemned them. He must now mount a similar defence of our farmers."
Mr Yeo said Mr Brown seemed more interested in defending the government against allegations that F&M statistics were being manipulated. "There is a straightforward way of allaying suspicion and that is to allow an independent statistician to audit all published and unpublished F&M statistics," he said.
Colin Breed, Liberal-Democrat agriculture spokesman, has also called for a full public inquiry. "It is vital that the whole truth about foot-and-mouth disease is drawn out. There are so many questions which must be answered, not just about the handling of this outbreak, but how it was allowed to happen."
Mr Breed said the government owed the public a full investigation into this crisis. At the very least the farming community deserved a long-term plan in case F&M turns out to be an entrenched problem, he added. *