Fears over 'secret GM trials'

GM CROP trials could be held in secret to stop protesters trashing test sites.

Senior Government figures are said to be keen to review the security arrangements around areas where trials take place in a bid to protect them from opposition groups.

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) confirmed ministers were "taking stock" of the arrangements for growing genetically modified crops in the UK, amid concern that vandals are harming the work of scientists and holding back agriculture.

But Westcountry anti-GM campaigners insisted such a move would fly in the face of public opinion and could even pave the way for any mention of modified food being removed from packaging.

Under existing EU rules, scientists must publish on a website the location of any GM trials. But the measure has made it easy for opponents to destroy the crops, most recently on a farm near Leeds, where 400 potato plants were pulled up.

Environment Secretary Hilary Benn has placed his faith in the "science" and recently told Labour activists that the real contribution of GM foods cannot be known "unless we run controlled experiments".

And Lord Mandelson, the new business secretary, has in the past publicly stated his support for the "crucial role" that "safe bio-technology" has in agriculture.

A Government source told The Independent newspaper: "We need to review the security arrangements. The rules are a charter for people who want to stop the experiments. A lot of information has to be put in the public domain and that makes it very easy for people to trash them."

However, Robert Vint, the national co-ordinator of Westcountry-based Genetic Food Alert, said there were "very sensible reasons" for publicising the location of test sites, most notably to monitor contamination with non-GM crops.

But he added: "It is quite clear the Government wants to push ahead with this, against the will of the British public. It is not the role of Government to re-educate the views of the public."

And he warned the move could be a step towards removing rules about making clear on packaging if items contain genetically modified ingredients.

"If they get away with secret trials, next it will be making sure people don't know what is in their food," he said.

The Government insisted "sensible and credible decisions" on GM food could not be taken without "solid scientific evidence".

A Defra spokesman said: "The Government has always maintained that human and environmental health are paramount, but the destruction and vandalism of GM crop trials risks withholding potential benefits to agriculture while simultaneously harming the UK's science base. The Government is therefore taking stock of the situation, but no announcements have been made on any new measures."

In September, then-farming minister Lord Rooker hit out at anti-GM protestors, claiming they are on a "messianic mission" not based on science.

He said the public was being "taken for a ride" by campaigners who behaved as if opposition to the technology was a "religion".