May 23, 2000 / Reuters/PA News
LONDON -- According to these stories, about 20 environmentalists closed down Britain's Ministry of Agriculture on Tuesday with a protest against the planting of genetically modified (GM) oil seed that sparked fury in Europe last week.
The stories say that the activists chained themselves together with bicycle locks in the lobby of the ministry's London headquarters, demanding the destruction of 600 GM oilseed crops and compensation to farmers unwittingly sold the seeds by Advanta.
The protesters accuse the British government and Advanta of "deliberately and knowingly allowing the release of GM oilseed to continue" after word of the accidental sowing became known.
Lucy Michaels, one of the activists, was quoted as saying, "This contamination is all too convenient to the government and the GM industry.
The so-called 'accident' seems to be a plot to force parliament, farmers and the public to accept GM crops and foods and a reduction in GM-free standards."
Last night, Tory shadow agriculture minister Tim Yeo was cited as writing to the minister demanding to know why a range of key environmental advisers had not been told of the release for four weeks after it occurred. UK Agriculture Minister Nick Brown was cited as telling the Commons on May 18 that the Government had known of the problem since April 17, but had delayed making the facts public while it consulted advisers. But, the stories note, Mr Yeo claimed that the Advisory Committee on Releases to the Environment - which Mr Brown said had looked into the incident and declared there was no risk - had not met to discuss the affair. And he said that English Nature, the Government's statutory adviser on nature conservation, had first heard of the problem through a radio report after his announcement in the Commons.
Mr Yeo called on Mr Brown to give a new statement to the Commons, detailing exactly who was consulted and when.
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