Volume 9: Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland
Part 2: Scotland
11. Comment
Taking the lead from London

11.12 These two occasions aside, the Scottish Office and in particular the Animal Health staff in DAFS, who had the main BSE responsibility, took their cue sedulously throughout from MAFF and, indirectly, the Department of Health. We consider that it was both appropriate and essential for them to do so. Animal and human epidemics are no respecters of administrative boundaries. As we have noted above, a threat like BSE could not sensibly be handled other than on a UK basis. Moreover, its transmission was still shrouded in mystery and involved many unanswered questions requiring expert assessment and research. The obvious place for the lead role was with MAFF and DH.