Europol probing food scandal

The horsemeat scandal has revealed the depth of integrated supply chains across Europe. But it has also shown the safety of the British public can only be ensured through fast and effective European co-operation.
By The Newsroom
Published 4th Mar 2013, 15:28 BST

It seems at the heart of the horsemeat scandal lies a set of sophisticated international criminal networks profiting from industrial scale food crimes, and the smuggling of counterfeit and substandard goods. That’s why the Government and its European counterparts have turned to the EU police agency, Europol. Led by a Brit, Rob Wainwright, Europol has become the world’s most advanced international criminal intelligence agency.

Now Europol is co-ordinating DNA testing and investigations across Europe to crack down on criminals behind this scandal.

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Owen Patterson, the ultra-Eurosceptic Tory Environment Secretary, said: “It’s clear Europol is the right organisation to co-ordinate efforts to uncover all wrongdoing and bring criminals to justice, wherever they may be.”

Hopefully, he can explain this to fellow MPs in his party, who are calling for the UK to pull out of all forms of EU co-operation on crime, including Europol.

As the Association of Chief Police Officers said, to pull out of EU police co-operation ‘would be a massive step back for UK policing’. For the sake of British national security and public safety, I hope Owen Patterson’s epiphany is the start of many in the Tory ranks.

GILES GOODALL

Liberal Democrat European Parliamentary candidate for South East England, Clays Hill, Bramber

Related topics:EuropeGovernmentMPs