Report Calls for Food Safety Agency

However, Professor James has argued in the report that the agency should report to parliament through health ministers, rather than through the Minister of Agriculture. This would demonstrate that consumer interests are paramount. But he has also recommended that the Agriculture Minister be involved in the agency, in what he describes as a new "axis" between parliament and a public body.

In welcoming the report, Mr Blair said he would be creating a Ministerial Group on Food Safety to take forward the proposals. Professor James said that restoring public confidence in the way food problems were handled was a matter of urgency. A target of three years should be set, he said.

Professor James insisted that the agency should have regulatory powers. This would enable it to act effectively over existing food scares, such as BSE, E.coli and salmonella, as well as over concerns such as food-labelling and pesticides.

"It's clear from consultation that we must have regulation," Professor James said. "If you simply have an advisory group, given the concerns at the moment, no-one is going to think it's credible. You've got to be able to act."

Mr Blair commissioned the report from Professor James in March. Thanking him for submitting a "detailed and considered report", the Prime Minister said: "It confirms my belief that we will benefit from a powerful food agency."

Consumer groups hailed the report. The National Consumer Council said: "This is a real breath of fresh air after all the secrecy and conflicts of interest within the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food." The National Food Alliance stressed that "the UK needs a Food Standards Agency to promote public health".

Meanwhile, in an elegant turn of phrase, the National Farmers Union called for industry-wide cooperation "to ensure British food has excellence written through it from plough to plate."