I note that the remaining restriction on the export of British beef (which affects cattle over 30 months old) is now also likely to be lifted. If approved by veterinary experts in January, this will mean that British been will once again be sold without any restriction whatsoever across Europe, 10 years on from being banned in the wake of the BSE crisis. All 25 EU countries will then accept all categories of British beef.

Readers will remember that France initially refused to accept British beef even for those categories that were declared safe some time ago (namely cattle up to 30 months old). We had to have recourse to the European Court of Justice for France to change its mind. All the other EU countries accepted British beef as soon as it was declared safe.

Outside the EU, there is little we could have done about the French ban - just as we have no mechanism for lifting the ban that remains on British beef across 80 other countries worldwide, including the USA. Inside the EU, all bar one country accepted our beef as soon as it was declared safe - and we had a legally binding procedure to deal with the one that didn't!