PA News | December 17, 1999 | By Sam Greenhill, PA News
The number of people who have died from the human form of mad cow disease could be "just the tip of the iceberg", the chairman of the BSE inquiry warned today.
Lord Phillips said that 48 people had died of the disease so far in the United Kingdom but the full extent of the disaster may not become clear for years.
He issued his warning in his closing statement on the final day of the marathon inquiry, which has gone on for almost two years.
The inquiry's final report is likely to run to 18 volumes when it is presented to ministers by the end of next March.
Lord Phillips began his closing statement by paying tribute to the families of the victims of new variant CJD - Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease - the human form of BSE.
Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy, which was first diagnosed in November 1986, causes a cow's brain to degenerate and become 'spongy' in appearance. There is no known cure.
Lord Phillips said today: "When we started, 24 families had seen a loved one struck down by the new variant of CJD.
"Today that number has doubled. No-one can say whether or not those victims are just the tip of the iceberg of an infection that is still concealed from sight.
"This is an unusual inquiry in that, while we are investigating events which led to a disaster, the full extent of that disaster may not be clear for many years to come."
He added: "Some of the issues that have emerged from consideration of the period with which we are concerned have not gone away. They continue to face not only the present Government but the new administrations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland."
Lord Phillips paid tribute to the 560 witnesses who submitted written evidence and more than 300 who gave oral evidence, all voluntarily.
He said: "There has been a high degree of willingness to help.
"I believe that this is quite remarkable and it is, I am sure, attributable in part to the emotion that we all share - one of the greatest sympathy for the families of victims of variant CJD, who have been following this inquiry so keenly."
The chairman continued: "Hardly a day goes by without BSE being referred to in the media as epitomising maladministration, usually by the use of an epithet such as 'the BSE scandal'.
"We believe that we have been asked to consider the adequacy of the response to BSE so that these accusations, in so far as they relate to the period with which we are concerned, can receive a fair and dispassionate consideration."
Lord Phillips thanked members of the public who had shown an interest in the inquiry - including those who have made a million visits to the official Internet website.
"Over the past two years the details of the BSE story have been laid bare in this hearing room and on our website for all who wished to follow it," he said.
After Lord Phillips's closing statement, families of victims of nvCJD said they believed the inquiry would expose the lack of communication between government ministers and officials as the BSE disaster unfolded.
Roger Tomkins, of Tonbridge in Kent, who lost his 24-year-old daughter Clare to the disease, said: "What comes over to me is the poor level of communication between government departments when something as serious as the BSE crisis was obviously on the horizon. The apathy was unacceptable."
Frances Hall, who lost her 21-year-old son Peter, said: "In our minds it was apparent all along that our loved ones were dying through some contact with bovine products."
Most of the 48 people in Britain who have died from nvCJD were represented by relatives at today's hearing.
Summing up his feelings at the end of the inquiry, David Churchill, of Devizes in Wiltshire, whose son Stephen, 19, was the first confirmed victim of nvCJD in Britain, said: There are a number of people we may wish to blame, but we have to wait for the inquiry's findings.
"It may find there is no one to blame as such, but find many people, or their actions, responsible."
Copyright 1999 PA News.
