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Mr. Forsyth: I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman. There was no discourtesy intended in his receiving the statement five minutes beforehand: I completed it at 3.15 pm, being anxious that the House should have the latest possible information. I hope that he will understand that.
I am extremely grateful to the hon. Gentleman for the tribute that he paid to the local authority and national health service staff who have been involved in dealing with the matter. He asked me a number of specific questions. I emphasise the fact that, quite rightly, the matter has been dealt with at a local level, by the local health board and environmental health officers from the local authority.
The hon. Gentleman asked why the list of outlets was published only last night. The information was gathered locally and I understand that the initial view was that the list should not be published until it had been established that the outlets had received material from the butcher concerned. It was for those who obtained the list to decide whether to publish it, and last night they did so.
I agree that public health concerns should be foremost: although there may be a balance of interests to be struck, the public health interest should always predominate, and
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The hon. Gentleman asked whether it was the final list. There have been difficulties in obtaining all the information required, partly because some of the food that was distributed was not properly labelled, which is of course contrary to the regulations. All those matters will need to be examined and may or may not form part of subsequent action by the appropriate authorities.
The hon. Gentleman asked whether the Scottish Office would publish advertisements. As I have already explained, that is a matter for the local health board, but I would certainly encourage it to do so, and my information is that it plans to do so. I agree that it is important that people who purchased food and, perhaps, put it in a freezer or elsewhere, should be aware of the outlets that are suspect. I understand that a large quantity of food has been recovered from those outlets and is now subject to examination.
On research, the chief medical officer told me earlier today that research projects were assessed very much on their merits. I believe that the hon. Gentleman has a valid point, and it is one of the matters on which I would expect Professor Pennington to report.
On whether establishing another quango might be the best way of coping with such matters, there is nothing in the information that has been made available to me to suggest that Lanarkshire health board and the North Lanarkshire local authority and its environmental health officers have done anything other than to discharge their duty under extremely difficult circumstances--which will no doubt become apparent at a later stage--with the utmost distinction.
Mr. Allan Stewart (Eastwood):
I join my right hon. Friend and the hon. Member for Hamilton (Mr. Robertson) in expressing the deepest sympathy to the relatives of those who have died and to those who have suffered in this tragic, serious and unexpected epidemic. My right hon. Friend was right to take decisive action by setting up the expert group under Professor Pennington. It will wish to act speedily and thoroughly. In the circumstances, would it be sensible for it to consider issuing an interim report speedily and the more detailed report thereafter? Of course, that will be a matter for the group, but will my right hon. Friend assure the House that that possibility will be borne in mind?
Mr. Forsyth:
My hon. Friend's suggestion is helpful. I plan to publish in full Professor Pennington's advice; I am grateful to him for agreeing to undertake this task. I expect him and his colleagues to provide advice as and when it seems appropriate and we shall act on it speedily. Whether it is necessary to publish an interim report will, as my hon. Friend said, be a matter for him. I would like to think that the report could be concluded speedily.
Other procedures will have to be followed. My noble Friend the Lord Advocate will need to consider whether a fatal incident inquiry is required and there may be other
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Mr. James Wallace (Orkney and Shetland):
On behalf of my right hon. and hon. Friends, I echo the condolences expressed and wish a speedy recovery to those who are suffering. The Secretary of State told the House that information on outlets was provided as soon as it was compiled. That begs the question why it took so long--from last Friday, when the first incidents were reported, until last night--to trace the outlets. Does he have any information on that? He may be aware that an article in The Independent last summer said that the food science laboratory at Torry, Aberdeenshire was at the forefront of E. coli 0157 research. Can he say whether, in the changes and redistribution of staff that followed the closure of the laboratory, the research team has stayed together to continue its work or has been broken up?
Mr. Forsyth:
As the hon. Gentleman knows, I was anxious to maintain that expertise in Scotland. Professor Pennington is the foremost expert in the subject and was very much involved in that. I am afraid that The Independent is not on my regular reading list and I am not familiar with the article to which the hon. Gentleman referred. I would be happy to look at it and let him have the detail on it.
On the compilation of the list, the hon. Gentleman will understand why I am reluctant to go into detail. I am not fully familiar with the background, but I have been assured that everything was done to try to get the material together. It depended on getting information from the butcher concerned.
Mr. Archy Kirkwood (Roxburgh and Berwickshire):
That would take only 10 minutes.
Mr. Forsyth:
The hon. Gentleman says that it would take 10 minutes. At the beginning, the information available may not have been as comprehensive. I understand that every effort was made to establish the information. The difficulties have been compounded by the fact that some of the food was distributed without proper labels and passed to other sources. All those things have created difficulties. Like the hon. Member for Orkney and Shetland (Mr. Wallace), I have asked some searching questions about the matter and I have been assured that all those involved have done everything possible to acquire the information as speedily and effectively as possible. I believe that that is the situation.
Dr. Jeremy Bray (Motherwell, South):
I wish to add my condolences to my constituents and their families, especially the families and friends of the four who have died. I wish a speedy recovery to all those affected.
The immediate concern of everyone in Lanarkshire is that all contaminated cooked meat products should be cleared out of the food supply chain. I met the chief officers of Lanarkshire health board this morning with the public health consultant Dr. Ahmed, who has been in charge moment to moment, as well as the responsible public health officials of North Lanarkshire council and my hon. Friend the Member for Motherwell, North (Dr. Reid). A first step has been taken by publishing, after unnecessary delay,
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In those circumstances, steps clearly need to be taken to carry the information and advice through to people's homes. Probably the biggest store of contaminated material is now in the fridges and freezers of many people throughout the central belt of Scotland, and those people must be reached. Will the Secretary of State encourage Lanarkshire health board in the conclusion that it reached this morning, that it should publish full display advertisements in the national press, advising people of what to do, the nature of the products, and the sources from which they may have obtained them?
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