Letter: The GM `monster'

Sir: Your piece covering the launch of the Nuffield report on GM crops ("Blair blames GM hysteria on the press", 28 May) quotes me as saying that environmental groups were unfair to call for bans on GM crops.

What I actually said was that it is unfair to suggest that all uses of GM - present and future - are necessarily dangerous. Particular types of GM crops may well pose unacceptable risks to health or to the environment and should not be allowed. This is clearly stated in the report.

The report sounds a series of highly cautionary notes, and should not be interpreted as an endorsement of the Government's present approach.

JULIE HILL

Programme Adviser to Green Alliance, member of Nuffield Council Working Party

London W2