Horsemeat

Will the hon. Lady take this opportunity to correct comments that she made in column 612 of yeste...

We are deeply obliged to the hon. Gentleman, who has now made his speech.

I am happy for the record to be put straight on that; in the heat of the debate, I made a slip of...

I am most grateful to my fellow Yorkshire MP for giving way. May I ask her to correct another par...

I believe that traces of horse DNA were found in products that emanated from the Dalepak plant in...

I congratulate my hon. Friend on her leadership on this issue. She and the highly respected Chair...

A range of mixed messages has been coming out of the Government. The Secretary of State said on F...

Does the hon. Lady agree that as the responsibility now lies with the retailers to help restore c...

The beef on sale right now in UK supermarkets is probably of a higher quality than ever. Lots of ...

I am very happy to do so. I have been restraining myself, Mr Speaker, because of your injunction ...

We are none the wiser about whether the Secretary of State knows the names of these companies, wh...

As a crofter and a producer, I should refer to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Int...

I share the hon. Gentleman’s concerns for the British meat industry. As he says, we have one of t...

For many years, we have been campaigning in Ayrshire to export many of these products to places s...

I do agree. The British food industry is a £12 billion industry, and hundreds of thousands of UK ...

The hon. Lady mentioned the upsurge in trade in local butchers over the past week. Some 30% of bu...

I agree that good traceability will be key in solving this crisis. I look forward to the Secretar...

No, we did not.

The hon. Gentleman was not in the Department at that time.

The FSA website has chapter and ...

I am grateful to the hon. Lady for giving way again; she is being very kind. What is her view on ...

I do not know how condemned meat is currently dealt with, but I have heard tales of people bleach...

On working with horse passport agencies and the national equine database, does the hon. Lady agre...

The national equine database was as the hon. Lady describes it, but the fact that it no longer ex...

The question of whether the animal has been injected with something might be a point for discussi...

We need a proportionate response. The problem with the meat found in the Northern Ireland freezer...

One thing we can be sure of is that the meat did not come from Northern Ireland. Our traceability...

I could not agree more, which is why I have questioned the Secretary of State so closely on the m...

It is good to be back at the Dispatch Box to talk about this subject for the second day running. ...

When the Secretary of State meets his counterparts in Europe, will he raise the problems that I r...

The hon. Gentleman will be pleased to note that I jotted down his constituency and was going to m...

Many farmers, crofters and primary producers have an onerous burden of responsibility and bureauc...

The hon. Gentleman is right that we must make absolutely sure that we do not create further regul...

It is great to hear this most Eurosceptic of Secretaries of State doing his bit for European co-o...

The shadow Secretary of State is again ahead of the game with respect to what I will say in my sp...

Does the Secretary of State agree that one of the lessons that has already been learned is that i...

The hon. Gentleman raises an interesting point, but I think that we have to be careful. There are...

Before the meetings tomorrow, will the Secretary of State ensure that product checks have been ca...

I am grateful to the Chair of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee for her question....

The point is that when lasagne that are sold as beef contain up to 100% horsemeat, there is a cle...

My hon. Friend raises an important question that came up yesterday. We have to take note of the c...

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I am conscious that other Members want to get in, but I will press on and make a little more prog...

May I push the Secretary of State further on testing? Has he ordered the testing of gelatine and ...

The hon. Gentleman asks a good question. However, like many Opposition Members, he is asking me t...

Will the Secretary of State assure me and the House on one point? The financial burden for any ex...

The European law is clear that retailers are key. They are responsible for the quality and validi...

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I will give way to the hon. Member for Dumfries and Galloway (Mr Brown), because he tried to inte...

The Secretary of State has spoken of criminal and fraudulent activity, as he did yesterday. There...

That is a perfectly valid question, but it is too early to tell. I will probably learn more in me...

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I am looking at the clock and must push on.

The criminal justice system in the UK and acros...

Will the Secretary of State give way?

I will give way one more time, then I must push on.

The Secretary of State seems to be placing a great deal of faith in the FSA. Given that it has fa...

That is absolutely glorious! Labour Members are attacking their own creation. That is one of the ...

The Secretary of State made the point yesterday that tracing processed meat products is a paper c...

I am grateful to my hon. Friend, but I confirmed a few minutes ago that I am concerned that the p...

rose—

May I just mention to Members who want to catch my eye that we are introducing an eight-minute li...

I congratulate the hon. Member for Wakefield (Mary Creagh) and the Opposition on securing such a ...

I take on board what the hon. Lady says. I believe that the tests that are being conducted will l...

That is a separate debate. We would need to look at the costs of two separate lines, one for beef...

I was pleased to hear the Secretary of State mention trust in his speech, because it lies at the ...

The Chair of the Select Committee was quite right when she said that when the matter was first id...

I am not sure whether the hon. Gentleman is aware, but we ran the UK bushmeat campaign almost a d...

I have listened to the hon. Gentleman and I know he was very active in this matter. Indeed, I int...

We take traceability extremely seriously in Rossendale and Darwen, where we have many livestock f...

I thank the hon. Gentleman for that; I may come to a similar point later. He is quite right. Inde...

We have heard a lot in this important debate about producer interests. I want to detain the House...

My hon. Friend is making a powerful point. The consequence of driving down costs has been to driv...

I entirely agree. The pressure on costs inevitably means pressure on quality. Instead of cutting ...

Will the hon. Lady give way?

I will not; I want to make some progress.

My hon. Friend the Member for West Bromwich East ...

It is a pleasure to follow the hon. Member for Hackney North and Stoke Newington (Ms Abbott). In ...

I am enjoying the hon. Lady’s speech a great deal, but I wonder where she is going with it. It is...

I think that that is a false choice. The issue is that we have stopped valuing, understanding and...

I congratulate the shadow DEFRA Front-Bench team on pursuing this issue relentlessly and on choos...

Does my hon. Friend think that if people really knew what goes into some of these cheaper process...

That is very much the point I am making. It is so important for people to know what goes into the...

Is my hon. Friend aware that the Government have just concluded a consultation on the EU food inf...

Exactly. I raised that very issue with the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Aff...

This should not seem like rocket science to the hon. Lady. If I told her that I could flog her a ...

Sometimes people simply do not have a choice between buying the slightly dodgy knock-off cheap te...

Will the hon. Lady give way?

I am about to end my speech.

That is the Government’s responsibility, and I was shocked by ...

rose—

Order. I shall have to lower the speaking limit to seven minutes in order to enable everyone to s...

It is slightly challenging to follow the hon. Member for Bristol East (Kerry McCarthy), who produ...

I am delighted to follow the hon. Member for Romsey and Southampton North (Caroline Nokes). As a ...

The hon. Gentleman is right to want to identify the point at which the fraud took place, but more...

I entirely agree, and that is why I am very pleased that the shadow Secretary of State has called...

It is a great pleasure to follow the hon. Member for Brent North (Barry Gardiner). Although he re...

On that point, does my hon. Friend agree that in this instance there was nothing unclear about th...

Absolutely, and that is fundamental. Frankly, that could not happen in the UK because environment...

I agree with much of what the hon. Gentleman has said, but surely the issue is about criminality,...

I acknowledge that position, but my point is that given the traceability in the UK industry, the ...

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Order. May I just say to Mr Parish that he has five minutes, as we have to start the wind ups at ...

May I apologise for not being here at the start of the debate?

It is a great pleasure to fo...

This has been an important and well informed debate, and I wish to thank some Members individuall...

It is important that I put it on the record that the Secretary of State is having the phone meeti...

I look forward to the right hon. Gentleman reappearing in the Chamber, but I am grateful to the M...

Order. I am sure we want to get back on to the subject of horsemeat. Is the hon. Gentleman sugges...

I am getting back in the saddle right now, Mr Deputy Speaker.

The Minister of State warned ...

In the few moments I have to respond, I should say that this has been a broadly measured and cons...

Will the Minister give way?

No, because the hon. Member for Glasgow South (Mr Harris) took up all my time.

The hon. Mem...

On a point of order, Mr Deputy Speaker. The Government lost in the High Court this morning. The H...

I thank the hon. Gentleman for his advance notice of that point of order. Those on the Treasury B...