Dangerous meat could soon start appearing on UK supermarket shelves if the Government fails to adequately fund food security checks at Dover port, the Conservatives have warned during a heated exchange in the House of Commons.
Shadow Environment Secretary Victoria Atkins took aim at the Government, accusing it of spending “more than the entire Defra budget to surrender the Chagos Islands,” the Independent reported.
“The head of port health at Dover warned the select committee this week that if funding is not secured within seven weeks, then food security checks at the border will be stopped,” said Atkins.
“This will mean unchecked and potentially dangerous meat appearing on supermarket shelves and in restaurants, at a time when foot-and-mouth disease is in Germany. When will the Secretary of State protect out borders and confirm this funding?”
Environment Minister Daniel Zeichner reassured MPs that the Government was aware of the challenges at Dover, stating, “We are on it.”
During a heated exchange in the Commons, Ms Atkins criticised the Government for changes to inheritance tax on farms, cuts to winter fuel payments and increased tax on rural businesses.
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In response, Environment Secretary Steve Reed acknowledged concerns over foot-and-mouth disease discovered in Germany and assured the house that all necessary biosecurity measures were being taken to protect the UK’s farming industry.
“We are relieved that there has not been a further spread of that outbreak, but we are taking all appropriate measures at the border to ensure that this country remains safe in terms of biosecurity, and we will continue to monitor the situation and take appropriate action, to ensure there can be no repeat of what happened around 20 years ago when foot-and-mouth outbreak in this country devastated farming and cost the economy a total of £14bn,” he said.
Ms Atkins reiterated that she was seeking a clear commitment on funding.
“I don’t think the Secretary of State either understood my question or knows the answer, because I asked him when will he confirm this funding. Compare this relaxed approach with the Prime Minister’s seeming desperation to pay more than the entire Defra budget to surrender the Chagos Islands.
“Now, does (Mr Reed) really support taxing British farming families for dying, slashing winter fuel payments for rural pensioners, and hiking taxes on rural businesses to pay £9bn to a foreign government on some dodgy legal advice from Labour lawyers?”
Chairman of the environment, food and rural affairs committee Alistair Carmichael said funding for Dover Port Health Authority is due to expire at the end of March.
Mr Zeichner acknowledged that the issues at Dover were “significant and “long running”.
He said the funding was not resolved ahead of the general election, adding it was “an ongoing discussion”.
“We are very aware of the challenges that are faced, we are on it, and we will make sure that we are talking to the Dover Port Health Authority,” he said.
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