Review of quarantine procedures welcome but lessons must be learnt says Sussex Lib Dem MP, Norman Baker

1.28.26pm BST (GMT +0100) Tue 25th Oct 2005

Norman Baker MP "The government needs to be open and transparant with the public so there is no repetition of the mistakes that surrounded the BSE and Foot & Mouth outbreaks."

Crawley Liberal Democrats have endorsed the comments of Norman Baker MP, Liberal Democrat Shadow Environment Secretary, when he welcomed the review of UK quarantine procedures and called for an immediate ban on bird imports on Monday 24 October. A Crawley Liberal Democrats spokesperson said "With Gatwick Airport one of the main ports of entry to the UK it's important that everything possible is done to prevent imports that can cause a major health risk."

Norman Baker (MP for Lewes) said "There are clearly serious issues raised by the death of this parrot from a potentially deadly strain of bird flu. We now need a thorough investigation to prevent the same thing happening again."

"The Government needs to be open and transparent with the public so there is no repetition of the mistakes that surrounded the BSE and Foot and Mouth outbreaks. The Government must implement an immediate ban on bird imports and suspend bird fairs in this country."