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Stephen Dorrell told the BSE Inquiry that he had no idea that the ban preventing infected beef reaching the human food chain was not working. (see Meldrum) He also stated that attempts to allay public fears over BSE were led by scientists (the same ones that were hand - picked by Government because they were not experts in transmissible spongiform encephalopathies. (see Gummer)
When asked at the time by a national newspaper, Mrs Dorrell said that neither herself or her young children ate beef burgers. As her husband was so blissfully - unaware and believed them to be safe, it's surprising that the delights of reconstituted slurry from a worn - out cow was not on the menu for his offspring. Especially as throughout BSE ' s most prevalent and toxic times school dinners regularly served this delight to our most vulnerable and from its most toxic source MRM (Mechanically recovered/retrieved meat).
Dr Erik Millstone is a specialist in food safety . He spent years researching BSE policy for the European Commission He said “ the level of infection in MRM was higher than in many others because a lot of MRM came from tissue close to the spinal column.” He added “if you are a parent of a vCJD victim and you can show that your child ate particular food products that contained “mechanically retrieved meat” on a regular basis then you might have a pretty good case to sue the company responsible.”
Dorrell also told the Phillips BSE Inquiry “I do not recall being told in February (1996) by Sir Kenneth Calman or anyone else that there was a real possibility that (SEAC) were about to confirm a link between BSE and recent cases of CJD”. For a politician of Dorrell's experience and status, whose responsibility and role was to safeguard the British public's health, it was and is woefully inadequate to expect to be excused on the basis that he was either badly advised or he didn’t know what was going on. Ministers choose which advice they accept or reject and they decide what research needs to be done. Lives could and would have been saved if BSE had been tackled quickly and efficiently, but the Government would only accept advice which said BSE was not a danger to human health.
In June 1996 Frances Hall, whose 20-year-old son Peter had recently died of vCJD, challenged Stephen Dorrell and said: "Will you take responsibility if in ten years time another parent is sitting opposite you saying that their child has just died of vCJD?" My Andy died eleven years after that Newsnight programme and I challenge Stephen Dorrell to take responsibility and be accountable for the avoidable death of my son and other victims.
Stephen Dorrell is currently MP for Charnwood, Leicestershire, East Midlands
When Stephen Dorrell took office in 1995 Andy at 12 was enjoying secondary school with his friend Luke had a family holiday with his grandparents in the Channel Islands and was looking forward to becoming a teenager……
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Stephen Dorrell
Luke, David and Andrew - first day at Secondary school