Wales on GM collision course

Controversial GM maize trial in north Wales

The Welsh Assembly has set itself on a potential collision course with Whitehall after members voted against allowing GM crops into Wales.

The motion was prompted by a GM maize trial - paid for the by the Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott's environment department - currently taking place in Flintshire, north Wales.

Assembly Lib Dem leader Mike German

But while Labour AMs backed the motion, there is a dispute as to whether it can have any practical effect.

At the Assembly on Wednesday, AMs agreed they would not allow GM organisms in Wales unless they could be sure they would not harm the environment or health.

"I hope he (John Prescott) will admit his mistake and take action to halt the GM trial that we don't want and that the tax-payers of Wales are paying for," said Liberal Democrat Assembly leader Mike German.

Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott

But the deputy prime minister side-stepped the question of whether he would dig up the Flintshire seed, mistakenly planted in the belief that it was in England.

"Since I spent a great deal of my time in Flintshire, was born in Prestatyn, I certainly would not make that mistake," he told the Commons.

"But in regard to the GM seed mix-up, I have said that we acted as quickly as it was possible to do so, we had to take proper advice."

Friends of the Earth lobby the Assembly

Friends of the Earth Cymru has been urging the Assembly to take a stand for some time.

The new policy is based on their legal advice. But there is still a dispute as to whether it can have any legal effect.

"My legal advice is that the motion is seeking to impose a higher test of certainty than contained in the directive and it could be unlawful," Agriculture Secretary Christine Gwyther told AMs.

While the Assembly's anti-GM stance has been likened to a local authority declaring itself nuclear free, opposition and some Labour AMs say they are determined it will mean more than that.