Dr Arpad Pusztai, the scientist who last year raised doubts about the safety of genetically modified foods, was made a scapegoat and subjected to a campaign that turned him into a martyr, the UK government admitted in Whitehall papers.
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According to a report in the Guardian newspaper, Whitehall officials admit in a series of “frank memorandums” that the government response to Pusztai’s findings was mishandled and the ensuing row served to undermine further public confidence in biotechnology.
Pusztai was caught at the centre of a long running controversy after he publicised the results of his experiments at the Rowett research institute in Aberdeen, Scotland, which indicated that genetically modified potatoes had harmed rats.
The Whitehall memos were obtained by the Guardian and the BBC during an investigation into the development of GM foods for a programme, Bitter Harvest, which was broadcast at the weekend.
Pusztai was told to retire from his position at the research institute, and scientists from opposing camps disputed the validity of his work.
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By GlobalDataAn official from Maff(the former Ministry for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food) noted: “The sight of this heavy handed scientific community bringing its full academic prejudice to bear on this frail, ageing scientist lost much of the case on sympathy and fairness grounds.”
