LONDON (December 17): BRITAIN's junior Health Minister Edwina Currie, who sparked a major row by saying most of Britain's eggs were contaminated, resigned last night.
A Government spokesman said Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher had accepted the resignation with 'great personal sadness'.
Mrs Currie, an ambitious politician with a flair for publicity, said in a television interview two weeks ago that most of Britain's eggs were infected with salmonella bacteria, which causes blood poisoning, bowel and genital infections, and can be fatal.
The egg industry said sales had slumped by 50 per cent as a result of her remarks and egg producers are suing her for damages. In an attempt to restore confidence, yesterday the Government launched a GBP500,000 publicity campaign with full-page advertisements in national newspapers saying eggs are basically safe if properly cooked.
At the same time the Ministry of Agriculture announced an emergency aid package to farmers under which it will buy up an estimated 400 million eggs left unsold as a result of the scare.
Secretary of State for Health David Mellor was to make a statement to the House of Commons early this morning. The egg industry has said millions of hens may have to be slaughtered and 10,000 poultry industry jobs are at risk as the country's 300 million egg mountain grows by 20 million a day.
