Agroterrorism a Genuine Threat - Williams

1.56.15pm BST (GMT +0100) Tue 22nd Aug 2006

The Liberal Democrats today warned that the threat of agroterrorism to Britain's food supply should not be overlooked.

Speaking on the possibility of an agroterrorist attack on the UK, Roger Williams MP, Liberal Democrat Spokesperson for Food and Rural Affairs said:

"Contaminating a nation's food supply could be very easy for terrorists, with chemical agents easy to conceal and distribute. A small amount of a high risk chemical could produce an epidemic of nationwide proportions.

"There is also the risk of an agroterrorist attack elsewhere in the world which could lead to a halt in imports and increased British agricultural self-sufficiency. DEFRA has quoted that we have between 15 and 25 days' supply of wheat for milling, but I will be writing to Ben Bradshaw to find out how many days' supply we have of other important foodstuffs.

"This is not an issue for public panic, but one that DEFRA and the farming community should be looking into. We must also look again at what agriculture can do to reduce the threat of terrorist bombs containing fertilisers. We need to review the security of fertiliser stores, something that polls show 66% of farmers do not consider at all."

ENDS

Notes to Editors

1. DEFRA's figures for how many days' supply of bread-making wheat are in store in England can be found at http://pims.parliament.uk/portal/site/PIMS/template.MAXIMIZE/menuitem.aae3f40ff2a1f0819b02df09a4f0a7a0/?javax.portlet.tpst=aad025a7d197e570bae0e510a4f0a7a0_ws_MX&javax.portlet.prp_aad025a7d197e570bae0e510a4f0a7a0_viewID=VIEW_RESOURCE_VIEW&javax.portlet.begCacheTok=token&javax.portlet.endCacheTok=token http://pims.parliament.uk/portal/site/PIMS/template.MAXIMIZE/menuitem.aae3f40ff2a1f0819b02df09a4f0a7a0/?javax.portlet.tpst=aad025a7d197e570bae0e510a4f0a7a0_ws_MX&javax.portlet.prp_aad025a7d197e570bae0e510a4f0a7a0_viewID=VIEW_RESOURCE_VIEW&javax

2. The Farmers' Weekly poll can be found at http://www.fwi.co.uk/polls/list.aspx>