Ananova:

The British public has little confidence in how the country's leaders handle national crises, because of their "secrecy" over issues such as BSE, GM foods and the MMR vaccine, according to a consumer watchdog.

People feel that recent Conservative and Labour Governments have kept them in the dark, patronised, manipulated and even ignored them over their concerns, research for the National Consumer Council (NCC) found.

The NCC is recommending that Whitehall should be more open about how it makes decisions, be more honest if there are doubts, and increase consumer involvement in decision-making.

Officials should also improve communication with the public and provide them with suitable information, allowing them to consider the risks for themselves.

NCC chairman Deirdre Hutton said the research showed some "stark" findings and that "risk issues" had not been handled effectively.

"This research recommends how Government can do better in the future," she said.

"Perhaps if the Government had been more open in its approach to GM food and crops, had shown greater honesty about the uncertainties, and had involved the public at a much earlier stage, we might now have a better basis to take forward a public debate.

"Likewise, if the Government had better understood and acknowledged parents' anxieties about the MMR vaccine, the issue would not have become such a political hot potato."

More than nine in every 10 consumers questioned (92%) agreed that Government should be more open about how it tackles problems while 84% said the public should be given more of a say in the debates about risky or uncertain issues.

On transport accidents, mis-selling of pensions or endowments, BSE, pollution, global warming, GM foods, MMR, mobile phones and masts, more than half of all respondents said the issues had been handled either "very badly" or "not very well".

Story filed: 00:26 Saturday 19th October 2002

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