HL Deb 29 October 1997 vol 582 cc245-6WA
The Countess of Mar

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Why, in letters relating to the restricted sale of Vitamin B6 prepared for MPs, the terms of the final paragraph of the reply to Lord Kitchener's written Question of 30 July 1997 (WA 54) are omitted.

Lord Donoughue

The reply to Lord Kitchener's written Question of 30 July 1997 [Official Report, col. WA 54] and the letter sent on 21 August by the Minister of State at the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food to MPs in England were prepared for different purposes and contained different information. However, both noted that the adverse reactions reported under the UK Yellow Card Adverse Drug Research (ADR) reporting scheme were associated with products containing Vitamin B6 and, in some cases, other constituents. As the reply to Lord Kitchener correctly notes, the inclusion of a reaction on the ADR database does not necessarily mean that Vitamin B6 caused the reaction.