§ 108. Mr. McKayasked the Minister of Food if he is aware of the case of a butcher in the Newcastle district who was fined £50 for selling tubercular meat for human consumption knowing it had been marked for consignment to a glue factory; and if he will consider amending the law so that people selling meat knowing it is diseased and unfit for human consumption, will be imprisoned without the option of a fine.
Dr. HillMy right hon. Friend is aware of this case. The Food and Drugs (Amendment) Act will provide for a maximum fine of £100—double the present maximum—or three months' imprisonment, or both. As the former Home Secretary said in a reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Woolwich, West (Mr. Steward), on 15th July
A provision for minimum penalties would be alien from the traditions of our law. It is for the court, in its discretion, to decide the appropriate penalty having regard to the circumstances of the offence and of the offender in each individual case."—[OFFICIAL REPORT, 15th July, 1954; Vol. 530. c. 60.]