FLAWED DATA PROMPTED RASH CULL

THERE was a nasty sense of de ja vu as it was revealed that a key piece of data which informed the Government’s controversial cull of badgers was based on flawed statistics.

The cost of this disgraceful cull – which I have vehemently opposed from the outset – has been reported in some quarters to be as much as £2m. Put another way, about £1,300 per dead badger.

Not only that, but the exercise, which started last summer, has been played out in the midst of an increasing abundance of scientific evidence suggesting it will not succeed in its stated aim of tackling bovine tuberculosis.

And now it transpires that, besides all that, the number of herds affected by TB were massively overestimated in the first place because of a computer glitch.

Wouldn’t it be nice if Government ministers would come out and explain themselves?

Instead, the revelation has been met by an eerie wall of silence from the same ministers who have done their utmost to mask figures on the cull since the nasty policy was first implemented.

So let’s recap:

A controversial Government decision in the face of both moral and professional advice against it;

The emergence of revelations detailing a fundamental flaw in the process;

Silent Government ministers, refusing to provide the answers the public deserve.

Ring any bells? To me it has horrible overtones of one of the greatest injustices I have witnessed in my Derby North constituency since becoming an MP – the Government’s appalling treatment of Derby train maker Bombardier.

On that occasion the moral offence was handing a lucrative £1.4bn contract overseas when the British economy was crying out for such a stimulus.

The dismissal of professional advice came in the form of industry experts identifying a whole host of errors in the procurement process which saw Bombardier overlooked.

And the revelations came as, unsurprisingly, the incompetence of ministers resulted in the completion date being set further and further back.

That particular fiasco makes my blood boil to this day, and I fear we are treading a similarly turbulent path over the badger cull.

I spoke at length on the issue in a Westminster Hall debate shortly before Christmas.

In that debate, I detailed the scientific evidence outlining the risks that the cull will not only fail to address bovine TB, but could actually make matters worse. I detailed how the public at large were opposed to the cull on principle.

As expected, my remonstrations fell on deaf ears and were disregarded in the same way that the scientific evidence and public opinion had been.

It remains to be seen whether the Government will finally do the decent thing and end the cull in light of the latest developments.

But for an administration that seems so cavalier in all it does, the fear remains that it will once again demonstrate absolute arrogance, shrug its shoulders and carry on regardless.