Talking turkey
Ben Bradshaw is still going on about a wild bird infecting Bernard Matthews turkeys couped up in a shed in Suffolk. We've been here before when there was an earlier outbreak of bird 'flu in Nigeria. There again wild birds were blamed, yet this happened well off the migration route.
As reports have shown people are out looking for dead wild life. Nothing in Suffolk, nor anywhere else in the UK. Not in Europe apparently, that is except for Hungary where Matthews happens to own a turkey farm. Ah well, yes there have been some vehicles from Hungary arriving in Norfolk, but THAT'S GOT NOTHING TO DO WITH THIS OUTBREAK. GOT IT? Who said that? I think it was Mr Matthews.
So is Mr Ben concerned about protecting our health, or defending big business whatever - of course for the reason that this could cost jobs. According to the hysteria in the press last year an outbreak of 'flu affecting us would be catastrophic. As he and ministerial colleagues continually tell us "Don't panic Mr Mainwaring."
I go on about people in the Labour Party - my Party, but they do appear a trifle silly from time to time. No doubt it affects all parties but I and comrades worked as hard as anybody to get Labour into power with a serious agenda. I don't remember anything said about going to war, snd I wouldn't have guessed that was on the agenda. Not after the Falklands or Vietnam (something we sensibly avoided in the U.K. under another Labour leader). The Health Service, Education, Education, Education (which I support) reduced to Privatisation, Privatisation, Privatisation (which I don't).
Tailpiece. The Hungary connection emerges.
"Last night both the government and the company conceded that a consignment of partially processed turkey meat from the Bernard Matthews' plant in Hungary had been sent to Suffolk and was now at the centre of the investigations into the origins of the outbreak. It is believed that this meat could have become infected during a series of H5N1 outbreaks in the south of the country after Christmas." Guardian 9/2/2007.
The question has been asked, what did ministers know even when they continued to talk about a wild bird in Suffolk?
Posted by John Tyrrell at February 6, 2007 9:41 PM
