INDEPENDENT (London) / July 27, 1999 / By Paul Waugh and Charles Arthur
THE GOVERNMENT warned yesterday that it may be forced to conduct genetically modified crop trials in secret after the destruction of a GM plantation by the environmental group Greenpeace.
Thirty protesters, including Lord Melchett, Greenpeace's executive director, were arrested at around 5.30am yesterday as they staged a dawn raid on a farm-scale trial in Lyng, Norfolk.
The environmentalists said they had "decontaminated" a six-acre plot of GM maize by digging up the plants with a tractor, amidst violent scenes in which bystanders' cars were damaged by a digger.
The protest was the latest in a series of "direct action" raids by environmental groups against the trial crops. Only four of the seven government-backed "farm-scale" trials, which are essential before GM crops can gain approval for commercial growing, are still intact.
Jack Cunningham, the minister responsible for co-ordinating policy on the technology, said that the protests could force the United Kingdom to follow Germany in restricting information about its test sites. "Hitherto, we have always given detailed information and put into the public domain the specific location of trials and experiments," he said.
"But you have to ask yourself the question, if small minorities are determined by illegal methods to impose their minority view on the situation by taking premeditated, reckless action in this way, we may have to reconsider that."
The first "farm-scale" site to be destroyed was in Wiltshire, where last month the landowner ordered the farmer to remove it. The second, in Oxfordshire, was destroyed last week by eco-activists not allied with Greenpeace.
Yesterday, William Brigham, 59, of Walnut Tree Farm, near Lyng, said he woke up to find about 40 people on the site with a tractor with a cutter on the back "trashing the trial". He said: "They have damaged about a third to a half of the crop, and I believe the trial may not be able to go ahead. They have cut and trampled it down.
"This has nothing to do with genetically modified organisms, it's whether we want democratic government in this country or anarchy."
Mr Brigham's brother, John, collapsed in a field, and it was initially feared he had suffered a heart attack, but he was discharged from hospital later yesterday. A family spokeswoman said his collapse was partly due to the stress of events.
The crop was planted in May by the agrochemical company AgrEvo and was due to flower next week.
Biotechnology companies sought a change to rules on revealing GM trial locations last year, when Mr Cunningham was in charge of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food. At the time, many smaller GM trial sites were being destroyed by protesters. But the Department of the Environment said that it was obliged to publish details of test sites.
Mr Cunningham said the public wanted the trials to continue to allow them to make an informed choice on GM issues. He attacked the "violent intimidation" and criminal tactics of Greenpeace. "We want to see these trials continue. The problem with these people is that they don't want to sit down and discuss this," he said.
Lord Melchett said: "Now that three out of seven of the government farm-scale trials have been disrupted, the whole programme of commercialisation of GM pollution disguised as science is at risk."
AgrEvo said yesterday that it wanted to conduct future experiments in secret. The alternative is 24-hour security for every trial site, but the Government, biotechnology companies and farmers disagree on who would pay for this.
Jim Thomas, a Greenpeace campaigner, said: "Our disagreement isn't with this farmer or these farm workers; it's with AgrEvo for producing this crop and the Government for letting it be planted."
Des D'Souza, of AgrEvo, said he did not believe the protest was peaceful. "If trespassing, criminal damage is peaceful and causing anguish to Mr Brigham and his family -- his brother had to be taken to hospital, he collapsed in a field today as a result of the stress of all this -- if that is peaceful, please someone needs to rewrite the dictionary books for me."
