A legal loophole could see the English government's hopes for genetically modified crops scuppered.

According to a Sunday newspaper, opponents of the production of GM crops in the UK have discovered that they need only to sway the Welsh or Scottish Assemblies against a yes vote, to keep the UK GM-free.

The agreement of politicians in Wales and Scotland is needed before a product can be put on the national Seed List of approved varieties. And, with Welsh politicians having voiced strong opposition to the introduction of GM in the UK - based mainly on the use of the chemical atrazine on maize - there is a thought to be a good chance that the Welsh Assembly would provide sufficient votes to block such a move.

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