BRITAIN: The British government is to give the go-ahead for genetically modified crops to be grown in the UK despite what it acknowledges is considerable public resistance, cabinet committee papers passed to the London-based Guardian newspaper reveal.
The minutes of the discussion - which was held eight days ago and involved senior cabinet ministers including the UK foreign secretary, Mr Jack Straw, and the environment secretary, Ms Margaret Beckett - disclose the government's final decision to give the green light to the first crop of GM maize in Britain.
An announcement is expected to be made to the House of Commons next week.
The papers make clear the government's recognition that public opinion in this country is generally resistant to GM crops. "The public was unlikely to be receptive," the discussion notes.
However, the British government is equally clear in its view that any ban on the crops would be "the easy way out" and would be "an irrational way for the government to proceed" in the light of its desire to back and encourage UK science.
The leaked documents also reveal that the British government has not yet given up hope of swinging the public round in favour of the crops.
"Opposition might eventually be worn down by solid, authoritative scientific argument."
The first crop to be grown will be the Bayer maize which did well in three-year crop trials.