Home What's New Speeches & Articles Newsletter - Jul 2008 Biography Diary Contact Information Photo Album Parliamentary Highlights Publications Links MEPs' Transparency   Conservative Party Latest News from Conservatives.com Conservative Party Website
		Beef ban lifted but markets under threat Wednesday, 2 October 2002 The French Government has today announced its decision to lift the ban on British beef. However, it is insisting on attempting to change EU law in the process. East Midlands Euro-MPs Chris Heaton-Harris and Roger Helmer have welcomed the move by the French, but warn that the French Government’s suggestion of a harmonised process for testing against BSE could have a devastating impact on the ability of British Farmers to export British beef. Speaking from the European Parliament in Brussels, East Midlands MEP Roger Helmer said: "At last the French have accepted that British beef is safe and there is no threat to the French consumer. We therefore urge the French Government to do the right thing and lift the ban immediately. Scientific opinion accepts that the British system guarantees consumer safety. The proposed harmonised law would impose penal costs on the British meat industry estimated to be an additional £25 per slaughtered animal. Such a measure would have a devastating impact on our ability to export British beef." Chris Heaton-Harris MEP added: "We therefore demand that the UK Government immediately rejects their proposal to harmonise EU law in the interests of the UK beef industry. The government should also begin a process to extract compensation from the French Government for all those whose livelihoods were devastated by the illegal ban on British beef imports."