THE Scottish executive is "years away" from allowing genetically modified crops to be grown north of the border. Ministers are said to remain deeply sceptical about the safety of GM technology.

Their position appears to conflict with that of ministers at Westminster. Leaked cabinet papers suggested that Margaret Beckett, the environment minister, was poised to approve the first commercial licence to grow GM maize. But Government insiders have played down the suggestion, claiming a decision is not imminent.

Trials on GM oil-seed rape are currently under way in Munlochy, in Ross-shire, and Tayport, in Fife. Jack McConnell, the first minister, is constrained by the need to avoid alienating his coalition partners on the issue.

A condition of the partnership agreement with the Liberal Democrats was that no GM licences or further trials would be approved until there had been a rigorous assessment of existing studies.

"Any inference that we are pushing on regardless is far off the mark," said one insider. "There is no prospect of GM crops being grown commercially in Scotland for the foreseeable future."
---

"none of this - nor public opinion, protecting the countryside or safeguarding future health - seems to matter to ministers so much as trying to show that like some tinpot tyrant, Mr Blair, America's poodle, is always right." - journalist Geoffrey Lean

"Why is the Government going ahead? It is not because of the science, it is because of the Bush administration applying pressure, and because of companies like Monsanto who want to make a big profit bonanza out of cornering the world food supply. It is nothing to do with feeding the world." - Michael Meacher, former UK environment minister http://www.lobbywatch.org/archive2.asp?arcid=2677