Identity area
Reference code
Title
Date(s)
- 1988–2011 (Creation)
Level of description
Extent and medium
11 files
Context area
Name of creator
Repository
Archival history
Immediate source of acquisition or transfer
Content and structure area
Scope and content
An outbreak of Bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE, also known as 'mad cow disease') struck the United Kingdom's cattle farms in the mid-1980s. By the late 1990s, the disease had spread to humans (as a new variant of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, nvCJD).
Sir Anthony served as a member of the Southwood Working Party, which sought to advise the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, and Food (MAFF) and the Department of Health and Social Services (DHSS) about BSE. The initial report, published in 1989, is located in file D/28/1.
Sir Anthony was also involved in the subsequent BSE (Phillips) Judicial Inquiry, which sought to investigate the UK government's response to the outbreak. The inquiry was announced in parliament in December 1997, and produced its report in October 2000.
Appraisal, destruction and scheduling
Accruals
System of arrangement
The original arrangement and order of the material, as well as file descriptions, were retained.
Conditions of access and use area
Conditions governing access
D/28/1 includes confidential material, closed until 30 years after Sir Anthony's death; other files may also contain sensitive material which may be restricted.