Further meeting with OP sufferers would not be beneficial, says Defra minister Eustice

Farmers have said they were disappointed at Mr Eustice's refusal to take the problem seriously
Farmers have said they were disappointed at Mr Eustice's refusal to take the problem seriously

A further meeting with farmers poisoned by organophosphate (OP) sheep dip would not be 'beneficial', according to Defra minister George Eustice.

Government orders to use dangerous organophosphate chemicals left hundreds of sheep farmers with debilitating ill health.

The Sheep Dip Sufferers Support Group (SDSSG) has called for a better diagnosis after labelling it 'one of the biggest medical cover ups in history' and is seeking official recognition that farmers were poisoned.

Farmers have said they were disappointed at Mr Eustice's refusal to take the problem seriously.

Mr Eustice said: "I met the SDSSG about a year ago and discussed this issue in depth. To the best of my knowledge there is no new scientific evidence available that would alter this conclusion.

"I am sympathetic to farmers suffering from ill health, but at this time I do not feel a further meeting would be beneficial."

"The Veterinary Medicines Directorate (VMD) has recorded the number of reports of suspected adverse reactions in humans to OP dips received each year since records began in 1985. To date this figure is 634. To the best of the VMD's knowledge this is most comprehensive dataset available."

Last November Mr Eustice met representatives from the Sheep Dip Sufferers Support Group.

At the meeting in November members of the group expressed a number of concerns. Representatives from the group explained that they had suffered ill effects for a number of years which they attributed to their use of organophosphate sheep dips.

They also shared experiences of blood test results that they said had been lost from GPs and from Guys Hospital in the 90s.

OPs are one of the most common causes of poisoning worldwide. There are nearly 3 million poisonings per year resulting in two hundred thousand death. Around 15% of people who are poisoned die as a result.