Environment minister Phil Woolas has questioned recent criticism of GM technology by Prince Charles.

The Prince of Wales recently referred to genetically modified (GM) crops as a “gigantic experiment with nature and the whole of humanity which has gone seriously wrong”.

But Woolas has now countered that government has a responsibility to base policy on science, and therefore to investigate the potential of GM crops as a solution to hunger in the developing world.

Woolas said: “It’s easy for those of us with plentiful food supplies to ignore the issue, but we have a responsibility to use science to help the less well off where we can. I’m asking to see the evidence. If it has been a disaster, then please provide the evidence.”

Until scientific evidence proves conclusively that GM crops have done harm, government will progress GM crop trials and towards a more “liberal” regime, he added.

Woolas is rumoured to have held private talks with the Agricultural Biotechnology Council about increasing Britain's acceptance of GM crops.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown has also expressed support for the controversial technology, and asked the EU to relax regulations governing the import of genetically modified feed.

Nathalie Moll, executive director of EuropaBio, which represents the biotech industry, said the UK is both coherent and consistent in its approach to GM, and welcomed Brown's support.

Topics