Genetically modified crops are once again in the news with debates being held locally this week. I urge you to attend them, listen to what is said and make your views known. If you do not, it is almost certain that GM crops will soon be grown near you and will find their way directly, or indirectly, into your food. Britain and the rest of Europe is facing considerable pressure from the United States Government to allow the unfettered, and undisclosed, use of GM material.

Many of you will know that I have defended a number of anti GM protestors. It is in the course of those cases that I have become aware of a number of issues, which alarm me. I am no Luddite unwilling to see progress. We are all as individuals genetically different from each other. Farm animals, crops, vegetables and our pets are all far removed from their wild ancestors as a result of breeding and cross breeding to change the genetic material of the original.

Parliament decided that GM material is so potentially harmful that, even to possess one GM seed without a licence, is a crime. Furthermore that licence has to be obtained directly from the Government. You do not need to go to such extremes to possess a firearm, carry a concealed pistol, or have so much explosive that it requires to be stored in a magazine. Parliament has decided that one GM seed is more dangerous than all of these.

Clearly therefore all possible steps require to be taken to ensure that such dangerous material is kept under the strictest control. This is a devolved matter for which the Scottish Executive is responsible. There should be no problems for them as there are only three sites to monitor in Scotland.

The licence issued by the Executive contains a condition that the farmer in growing GM seed must use "good agricultural practice." It is a serious criminal offence not to comply with the terms and conditions of the licence. The evidence in Dingwall Sheriff court was that the Executive did not know what it meant! How can they monitor compliance if they do not know what is required? It is rather like saying that breaking the speed limit will be a crime but we are not going to decide what the speed limit should be and thus cannot enforce it.

The licence requires the sowing of the GM seed to be at a certain rate. It is a criminal offence for the farmer not to comply. As there are only three sites, it is easy to ensure monitoring one would think. Apparently not as it was beyond the skills of Finnie and his department, who, instead, we were told, relied upon returns made by the farmer. In other words the farmer was asked if he had committed a crime and said no. That was enough for our Executive. Funnily enough most of my clients also tell me they did not commit any crime. That should satisfy the Executive then and have the added bonus of drastically cutting the costs of courts, prisons etc.

Well then surely there are rules and requirements that must be followed to the letter and checked carefully to ensure compliance? Remember Parliament in all its wisdom does not allow possession of one seed let alone doing something with it. The evidence given was that rules are "to be taken with a pinch of salt" and no-one in authority even blinked.

I am not a scientist. I do not know what is good or bad in this field. Unfortunately neither do the experts who cannot agree. However I know when someone is trying to pull the wool over my eyes. It is claimed by the powers that be that rape pollen cannot travel more than 50 metres. Oh yeah? If nonsense such as this is to be the basis for decision making, I mistrust the rest.

Does GM matter? I worry over the Pandora's Box effect. No-one thought it was wrong to release rabbits in Australia or hedgehogs in the Western Isles. The contamination from GM maize in Mexico has wiped out a vast gene pool of other maizes. The risk of contamination is so high it cannot be insured against here.