Three arrested as protesters destroy GM crops

Jeanette Oldham and John Ross
The Scotsman, 7 May 2002

PROTESTERS last night launched a new attack on a controversial GM crop
site in the Highlands.

A 100-strong crowd demonstrated at a farm in the small Easter Ross
village of Munlochy, the site of one of the UK’s biggest GM crop trials.

Police officers called to the scene at around 6:30pm yesterday found
several people destroying the genetically-modified oilseed rape crop
using a 4x4 vehicle. Access routes to the field were blocked by other
vehicles.

Three men, aged 20, 43 and 44, were arrested and taken to Dingwall
police station. They are expected to appear at Dingwall Sheriff Court
this morning

A Northern Constabulary spokesman said: "We totally condemn this illegal
and irresponsible action which had potentially serious consequences in
the event of an emergency situation occurring in the wider area."

Campaigners have been mounting a vigil for almost ten months at the site
and in recent weeks, the protests have intensified, despite a number of
arrests.

Most recently, someone entered the field at Roskill Farm and ripped out
about five acres of plants and five people were arrested after tearing
up more plants.

The damage was done just days after the Scottish parliament’s transport
and environment committee had called on the Executive to have the crop
trial ploughed up. It voted 5-4 in favour of a recommendation that the
trial could harm the environment and the food chain.

But the call was ignored by the rural redevelopment minister, Ross
Finnie, a Liberal  Democrat, who has held to the line that there is no
new evidence the trial poses any harm and that he is bound by a European
directive to allow the test to continue.

Last week, the Scottish National Party joined Holyrood’s only Green MSP,
Robin Harper, in his fight to persuade the Executive to back down.

Mr Harper says a new European environment agency report warns of a high
risk that growing GM oilseed rape will result in genetic contamination
between different varieties of GM plants, and between GM plants and
their wild relatives.

But Mr Finnie insists that, having received advice from the UK advisory
committee on releases to the environment (ACRE), the executive was bound
by law to allow continuation of the trial.