Gwyther stands by Whitehall attack

GM seeds grown accidentally by hundreds of farmers

The Assembly Agriculture Secretary said she stands by her criticism of Whitehall civil servants even though the First Secretary has insisted there should be no apportioning of blame.

Christine Gwyther claimed that she was kept in the dark over the GM seeds mix-up because Whitehall had not learned to cope with devolution.

Ms Gwyther attacked what she called the Whitehall machine for failing to tell her that GM seeds had been mistakenly sold in the UK - even though the Westminster Agriculture Secretary had the information for a month.

Agriculture Secretary Christine Gwyther

She was in turn criticised by the civil servants' union and opposition politicians for her comments.

Speaking at a joint engagement, Rhodri Morgan said it is time to leave the question of blame behind.

But Christine Gwyther said she stands by her criticism even though she agrees with the first secretary.

Critics will see this as a sign of further distance between the Agriculture Secretary and Rhodri Morgan as speculation grows that he'll reshuffle his cabinet this summer.

Ms Gwyther's attack followed the admission by the Agriculture Minister Nick Brown that officials knew a month ago that GM-contaminated seed had been distributed to 600 British farms in the past 12 months.

Ms Gwyther - who said she was only told about the problem on Tuesday - said there was a perception of secrets being kept.

Grown by mistake

The row followed the possibility that GM oilseed rape may have already been sold and grown in Wales.

The government is under pressure to trace and destroy genetically-modified (GM) crops which have been grown accidentally by hundreds of British farmers over the past two years.

Environmental campaigners and opposition politicians said it should be possible to find out which farmers Advanta Seeds UK supplied with the GM rape seed - mistakenly mixed in with ordinary rape seed - and get rid of the crop.

It is thought that between 500 and 600 farms across the UK may have used the seeds but as yet it is unclear if any are located in Wales.