BBC Correspondent Margaret Gilmore: "Mr Hogg's ideas were rejected"

Douglas Hogg told the BSE Inquiry the government did not believe humans could catch a variation of the disease until March 1996, when a possible link with new variant Creutzfeldt Jakob disease was announced.

But the former minister described how his recommendation of banning the sale of all beef and products from cows over the age of two-and-a-half years was turned down by the cabinet days after the link became known.

Douglas Hogg: Concern over the link lead to proposals

Mr Hogg, agriculture minister between 1995 and 1997, said a ban on beef from infected cows and certain beef offal had been introduced but slaughterhouses were not fully complying with the rules.

Mr Hogg realised due to the failure of some abattoirs to comply with BSE regulations that he "could not rely purely on those controls".

Early on at the ministry, Mr Hogg believed the risk of humans catching the disease was similar to the risks involved in "flying, or catching a train".

But by February 1996 scientists monitoring CJD, a degenerative brain disease, began to express concern about a new form of the illness which affected young people.

The inquiry heard how, in March 1996, Mr Hogg was told there had been between six and eight cases of CJD among young people in the UK over the past few years which had "showed distinct attributes".

Mr Hogg said: "If this proved to be correct then a new form of CJD would have been developed in the UK in the past couple of years and it was argued that a possible, perhaps probable, explanation would be that there was a link with BSE.

"In retrospect this was probably the emergence of what is now known as new variant CJD."

Mr Hogg said he wanted to make an early announcement regarding the developments, proposing a ban on the sale of all beef and beef products from cows over the age of two and a half years.

The likely public response could have cost the government up to £1bn if all bovine products from animals over two-and-a-half years were destroyed.

The inquiry heard how a crisis meeting of the cabinet was held on 19 March at Downing Street, chaired by the then prime minister John Major.

A Downing Street meeting discussed the beef crisis

Mr Hogg said: "It was decided however not to endorse any of the recommendations that I had made.

"The general feeling was that my recommendations were disproportionate."

He said he felt at the time the measures would need to be taken at some point and an early introduction would help retain public confidence in British beef.

Mr Hogg felt due to the difficulties of compliance with existing BSE measures and the new information of the risk to human health "this made the government's position untenable".

The next day the government announced restrictions on beef from cattle aged more than 30 months and a ban on meat and bonemeal in farm animal feed.

Mr Hogg commented: "My cabinet colleagues did not endorse my recommendations and consequently the measures set out in my statement to the House of Commons of March 20 fell short of what I regarded as desirable.