Butcher in food poisoning scare shuts up shop

An Edinburgh butcher at the centre of the latest E.coli food poisoning outbreak in Scotland decided yesterday to close his shop.

James Anderson made his voluntary decision following talks with environmental health officials who have linked three E.coli 0157 cases with his shop in Leith. There have been no deaths in the latest outbreak, but one of the victims, a 72-year-old woman, is seriously ill at Edinburgh Royal Infirmary. Swabs from the shop were taken yesterday but it could take up to five days before the results are known.

Meanwhile, John Barr, the butcher whose premises in Wishaw have been linked to 18 deaths in an earlier outbreak in Lanarkshire, prepares to reopen his shop today, with the approval of the area's public health authorities. Steve Boggan