A BSE disease expert has accused the Government of a cover-up as a new mad cow dumping row flared in Burnley.

Microbiologist Dr Stephen Dealler says the danger to public health from the burial of infected animal carcases - as occurred in Burnley - was not known, because the Ministry simply hadn't investigated the issue.

The Burnley General Hospital consultant, one of the first to blow the whistle on BSE dangers, added: "They made sure only they had access to the equipment to test danger levels, but haven't done the job.

"Quite frankly, the whole thing stinks," he said.

Burnley MP Peter Pike is to demand answers from the Ministry and also Lancashire County Council which buried more than 30 infected animals at the town's Rowley Tip in 1990.

His call follows revelations this week that more than 6,000 cattle carcases, suspected to have BSE, were buried in landfill sites throughout the country - in direct contravention of Government regulations calling for them to be incinerated.

Ministers are under fire for initially denying there had been any widescale dumping and later admitting they simply did not know where the carcases were or that they had any intention of finding out. In Burnley, a major row erupted when news of the dumpings broke in 1990, triggering fears that infection could contaminate waterways or be carried by animals.

The burials ceased following angry protests from Mr Pike and Burnley council bosses.

At the time, county chiefs said the beasts would stay where they were because digging them up would present "a terrible health risk".

But Mr Pike said: "Things have moved on considerably since that time and I will be writing to both Lancashire County Council and the Ministry to ask if that is still the best advice in the light of any new scientific evidence over the past seven years."

Dr Dealler believes many new BSE cases are simply not being reported.

He said reported cases over recent months fell well short of the scientifically predicted numbers, which could only mean failure to notify.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.