§ Mr. WalterTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, pursuant to his oral answer of 22 January 1998,Official Report column 1136, for what reason he was unable to provide a written reply to the hon. Member for North Dorset on the subject of beef imports from the European Union. [25941]
§ Mr. Rooker[holding answer 27 January 1998]: I have now written to the hon. Member, and placed the letter on the board. I apologised to the hon. Member via a telephone message late on 22 January since I was not able to reply on that date as promised. I was unable to consult the relevant officials in time as they were undertaking surveillance operations away from London.