§ Lord Kennetasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether the information and evidence provided by the cattle feed industry upon which the regulatory authorities allowed new manufacturing processes and which (in the view of the Government's Spongiform Encephalopathy Advisory Committee) allowed BSE to emerge in cattle, give grounds for legal action against any part of the industry.
§ The Parliamentary Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (Lord Donoughue)The changes which took place in the rendering industry, which are now believed to have led to the origin of the BSE epidemic, did not require explicit permission from the regulatory authorities. They were taken in good faith on the basis of scientific understanding at that time and we are not aware of any grounds for legal action in respect of action taken at that time.