The Duke of Edinburgh has provoked criticism
and put himself at odds with his son by playing
down fears of genetically modified foods.
The Duke is quoted as saying that the
introduction of foreign species, such as the
grey squirrel, has already caused more damage
to the UK's environment than could be caused
by GM crops.
Ever since people
started selective
breeding animals and
plants have been
genetically modified, he
said.
His comments -
reported in The Times
newspaper - are at
odds with the views of
the Prince of Wales,
who has warned of the dangers of GM foods.
The Conservative Party's agriculture
spokesman Tim Yeo said the Duke appeared to
be "slightly confused" about the issue.
And environmental campaigners, Friends of the
Earth said his argument did not hold water.
Prince Philip's comments came in response to a
lecture made at Windsor Castle by the Chief
Rabbi, Dr Jonathan Sacks.
The Duke said: "Do not let us forget we have
been genetically modifying animals and plants
ever since people started selective breeding.
"People are worried about genetically modified
organisms getting into the environment.
"What people forget is that the introduction of
exotic species - like, for instance, the
introduction of the grey squirrel into this
country - is going to or has done far more
damage than a genetically modified piece of
potato."
The director of Friends
of the Earth, Charles
Secrett, said the Duke
had undermined himself
in the example he
chose.
"The Duke has hit the
nail on the head when
he talks about the
effect the grey squirrel
had on the
countryside. Who
would have predicted
the damage it would do?
"If we had stopped to test the effects of this
particular genetic import we would never have
allowed it to establish itself.
"If we continue to charge down the road to
commercial development of GM crops before
any proper testing has been completed, the
Duke and all the rest of us may live to regret
it," he said.
Earlier this month, the
Princess Royal spoke
out in favour of GM
foods.
In an interview with
The Grocer magazine,
she said those who
were opposed to all GM
foods were guilty of a
"huge simplification"
and that organic food
production is not an
"overall answer".
But last month the Prince of Wales used his
contribution to the BBC Reith Lectures to
restate his long-standing opposition to GM
foods.
The prince warned the scientific community
that tampering with nature could bring great
harm to the world.
Duke should be 'cautious' ,P>
Saying he did not want to "get involved in a
family row", Tory spokesman Tim Yeo said: "I
think he [the Duke] is slightly confused about
this issue.
"Of course it is right that the introduction of
some exotic animals into an island like Britain
has done great damage, but that should make
him more cautious, not less cautious, about
the consequences of genetic modification.
"Genetic modification goes much further than
selective plant breeding or gradually improving
horses so that they can run faster.
Highlighting the radical nature of genetic
modification compared to selective breeding,
he said: "It does involve taking genes from one
species such as a fish which is normally
confined to the Arctic and sticking it in
something like a tomato to make it more
frost-resistant."
~*~
Camilla to be hostess at the Palace(Electronic Telegraph)
By Robert Hardman
CAMILLA PARKER BOWLES is to play a prominent role at a Buckingham
Palace banquet only a day after the Queen's Windsor Castle ball in honour of
four royal birthdays.
The Telegraph has learned that the Queen will not be present at the Palace
dinner which the Prince of Wales is holding on June 22. Mrs Parker Bowles is
not expected to attend the Windsor ball. However, the Queen is well aware
that the Prince's close friend will be greeting visitors in the state rooms at the
Palace when about 100 American guests arrive for the event in aid of the
Prince of Wales Foundation, his American fund-raising arm.
Following last Saturday's meeting between the Queen and Mrs Parker
Bowles at Highgrove and yesterday's Telegraph disclosure that the Prince's
friend has had talks with the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Palace banquet is
a further sign of gradual acceptance into the wider royal fold.
Mrs Parker Bowles attended a Palace dinner last year, but at short notice
after it was switched from Hampton Court Palace. The June 22 event,
however, will be a much grander affair, more akin to a state occasion. The
fact that it has been planned at Buckingham Palace all along and that Mrs
Parker Bowles was always going to be there - with the Queen's knowledge -
is extremely significant.
It will be her second official engagement at the Prince's side in three days. On
June 20, she will accompany him to another fund-raising event in surrounds
rather different to the Palace - Shoreditch, east London. It takes place at the
headquarters of The Prince's Foundation, his umbrella group of British
charities.
With Garter Day ceremonies at Windsor, the Royal Ascot race meeting, the
Windsor ball and the more subdued celebrations for Prince William's
exam-blighted 18th birthday, this was always going to be a frenetic royal
week in Windsor. Mrs Parker Bowles, it seems, now has a busy schedule of
her own in London.
Her meetings with Dr George Carey, the Archbishop of Canterbury, are
expected to be discussed on Thursday when the Prince's private secretary,
Stephen Lamport, meets Dr Carey at Lambeth Palace. It is thought to be
more of a courtesy call than a weighty discussion of constitutional affairs.
Dr Carey is well aware of the Prince's official position - that he has no
intention of remarrying - but is keen to keep himself informed of the Prince's
friendship with Mrs Parker Bowles since it is a subject of considerable
concern in certain quarters of the Church.
However, The Telegraph has learned that Mrs Parker Bowles's conversations
with Dr Carey have been conducted at such a personal and informal level that
he has even been an occasional visitor to her house in Wiltshire. Last night, a
St James's Palace spokesman declined to comment on Mrs Parker Bowles's
presence at the dinners.
~*~
Prince William 'now close to Mrs
Parker Bowles'(UK Times)
BY ANDREW PIERCE
A TELEVISION documentary to mark the 18th birthday
of Prince William will show that he has forged a strong
and close relationship with Camilla Parker Bowles since
the death of Diana, Princess of Wales.
The 30-minute programme next Tuesday will argue that
Prince William's relationship with his father, which was
always good, has become much more relaxed and
informal as he has matured.
For the first time it will be claimed that it was Prince
William who pressed his father to arrange the 1998
meeting at St James's Palace between Mrs Parker
Bowles, himself and his younger brother Harry. They have
since met regularly at Highgrove for breakfast.
Prince William at 18, which will be broadcast on ITV on
June 14, one week before he comes of age, will project
the image of a shy but single- minded teenager who is
more at ease with his father's heritage than the Spencer
one, enjoys country pursuits such as hunting, and is
happily reconciled to one day rule as King. St James's and
Buckingham palaces refused to give any co-operation to
Blakeway Productions, which made the programme. The
company spoke to known allies of the heir to the throne
such as Penny Junor, the royal biographer.
ITV, which is screening the programme, is so sensitive
that it asked Blakeway to edit out a suggestion that Prince
William was uneasy about public exposure of his mother's
relationship with Dodi Fayed. The edited sequence
revolved around film in the summer of 1997 of the young
princes with the Princess of Wales and Mr Fayed on the
upper deck of the Al Fayed family's luxury yacht.
Advisers to the Prince of Wales and Mrs Parker Bowles
are divided as to whether she should accept an invitation
for the 100th birthday party of the Queen Mother even if
one is proffered. Mrs Parker Bowles is determined not to
run even the slightest risk that her presence at such a large
gathering of the Windsors would distract attention from
the Queen Mother.