British government handling of the crisis over mad cow disease was fatally flawed, an official inquiry concluded Thursday, but cleared ministers and civil servants of a cover-up.
A long-awaited report said "sensible measures" to tackle the emergence of the cattle disease and its fatal human equivalent had been marred by "serious shortcomings" in the way they were implemented.
Agriculture minister Nick Brown, addressing the House of Commons, announced that a compensation package that "could amount to millions of pounds," would be made available to the victims of the human variant of the disease and their families.
The disease was "a national tragedy" and "has a devastating effect on the victims and their families," Brown said -- LONDON (AFP)
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