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SCIENCE: TONY GETS LOW MARKS

23 May 2002

Friends of the Earth today accused Prime Minister Tony Blair of “confusing science with the commercial development of technology”. Speaking to the Royal Society, Mr Blair is expected to criticise GM and environmental protesters as “anti-science”.

But Friends of the Earth Director Charles Secrett says that Mr Blair and New Labour are only pro-science when it suits them.

• It supports the commercial development of new technologies such as GM food, which it is trying to force onto the market despite public opposition and before proper scientific research into the risks and benefits of new crops has been completed. A recent leak to Friends of the Earth shows that the Government is planning to reduce the public’s right to object to GM crop development through seed listing hearings, the only lawful opportunity the public now has to raise scientific and other concerns about GM crop safety.
• It downgrades scientific findings that are awkward or potentially expensive. For example, scientists – including the Government’s own Chief Medical Officer – have warned of the 12-24,000 premature deaths every year in Britain from air pollution largely caused by traffic. Yet the Government has abandoned attempts to cut traffic levels.
• It tries to label opponents of Government policy as “anti-science” when in fact they are concerned about risk – the Government is rushing forward to license GM crops without applying the precautionary principle that should guide the introduction of new technologies.
  

Charles Secrett said:

“Tony Blair wants to portray environmental protesters as anti-science. But in fact concern for our environment has been fuelled in large part by scientific findings, from climate change to species loss. Unfortunately Governments ignore this science whenever it suits them. If Government science policy was governed by a real concern to find the truth, rather than by narrow business interests we would all be much better off.”

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