Claiming that Britain鈥檚 Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food favoured
farmers over consumers 鈥渨ould be totally wrong鈥�, the BSE inquiry heard last
week. Keith Meldrum, chief veterinary officer at MAFF until April 1997, was
responding to critics who have suggested the ministry failed to make public
health its top priority.
Meldrum provoked further controversy when he declined to provide a tape of a
discussion about BSE with researchers at the University of Surrey, on the
grounds it included 鈥減ersonal鈥� comments about members of his family and
colleagues. As New 杏吧原创 went to press, he had not informed the
inquiry whether he intends to submit an edited version of the tape.