Volume 11: Scientists after Southwood
2. The Tyrrell Consultative Committee
Terms of reference
Interpretation of the remit by the Tyrrell Committee

2.15 The Tyrrell Committee (Consultative Committee on Research) was established to advise on TSE research, and its terms of reference were:

To advise the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food and Department of Health on research on transmissible spongiform encephalopathies including:

(a) work already in progress or proposed;

(b) any additional work required;

(c) priorities for future relevant research.

In the context of these terms of reference, transmissible spongiform encephalopathies includes those affecting both domestic and wild ruminants and man. ¹

2.16 These terms had been amended a number of times. The original draft terms by Mr Alan Lawrence of MAFF's Animal Health Division were simply:

To advise on coordination of the research work which is being carried out in relation to all aspects of Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) and to advise on any further research which may be required, in particular to answer the questions identified by Sir Richard Southwood's expert Working Party. ²

2.17 Mr Lawrence's draft terms related only to BSE. Mr Meldrum, the Chief Veterinary Officer (CVO), first suggested that the terms of reference should be extended to include any animal encephalopathy, ³ and subsequently changed the terms of reference to include domestic and wild ruminants. ⁴ However, Professor Ronald Bell of MAFF's Chief Scientist's Group went further and pointed out to Mr Andrews that the draft terms made no reference to humans, ⁵ which resulted in another amendment.

2.18 The terms of reference gave the Committee an advisory role only, and ensured that the Central Veterinary Laboratory (CVL) and the Veterinary Investigation Service (VIS) would not be formally subject to the coordinating control of an outside working party. ⁶

2.19 Mr Meldrum suggested the Committee should report to himself and Sir Donald Acheson. ⁷ Sir Donald drafted the final terms, which duly required the Committee to report jointly to MAFF and DH.

2.20 On 24 January 1989 Sir Richard Southwood expressed his regret to Mr Andrews that the terms excluded animals other than ruminants and man, and pointed out that a 'watching brief' on domestic pets and pigs was also needed. ⁸ Indeed, in its report, the Southwood Working Party recommended that the Consultative Committee should consider the possibility of formal monitoring of the health of pigs and domestic animals, and said that:

We assume that there is no intention to exclude these animals from the Committee's terms of reference, and believe that the departments concerned will recognise the dangers of excluding these potential infective pathways. ⁹

2.21 In response to Sir Richard's intervention, Sir Donald said to Mr Andrews that 'I think we can reassure [Sir Richard] that Dr Tyrrell's group could consider any animal species that might be relevant, including those such as pigs and domestic pets'. ¹⁰

Interpretation of the remit by the Tyrrell Committee

2.22 During their first meeting, the Committee members agreed that they would interpret the terms of reference widely, and reserved the right to consider research directed at species beyond ruminants and humans. ¹¹ Dr Tyrrell, however, told the Inquiry that although the Committee was asked to make its advice wide enough to cover all TSEs, it was decided that that would take too long, and that it would be more useful to produce quick answers on BSE, which was to be the focus. ¹² He thought the Committee's objective was to review what had happened and what was known about BSE in as wide a context as possible, and then produce a refined list of research that would be useful to MAFF and DH. ¹³

2.23 Other members of the Committee also told the Inquiry what they perceived their role to be. Dr Watson said he saw the Committee's role as initially to review and approve work undertaken by the CVL, and to devise a research programme that was capable of being supported by adequate resources and of being carried out expeditiously. Dr Kimberlin suggested the Committee's aim was to review the NPU's and CVL's BSE research programmes, fill in gaps, ensure the programmes were coherent, and prioritise the list of projects. Professor Bourne thought the Committee needed to promote more epidemiological work, and to establish a stronger science base on the understanding that BSE's pathogenesis was similar to the existing scrapie model. ¹⁴