Leaders: Official backing can keep Scotch beef on the menu | Fair reasons to pay RBS boss bonus

FEW food crises have erupted with greater force and with as potentially disastrous consequences for beef producers than the unfolding scandal over the widespread discovery of horsemeat in processed products bought by millions of shoppers innocent of their contents.

This story is now entering its fourth week. Public confidence has been shaken in the past few days, and consumers have every right to be concerned over how this came about and the role of the supervisory and inspection agencies charged with ensuring not only that our food products are safe, but that they are clearly and appropriately labelled.

In this concern they are now joined by Scotland’s beef industry. There is no suggestion that Scottish beef is contaminated. Products with the Scottish label are accredited under farm assured schemes and are amongst the best quality that can be found anywhere. But the industry cannot escape the consequences of a widespread consumer avoidance of all meat products until the authorities get a grip and food shoppers are confident that what they are buying contains what it says on the label – and not something else entirely.

Over the weekend it has become clear that the Scottish industry is at risk. NFU Scotland is fully justified in calling on the Scottish administration to step in and help the industry. This matters because Scottish meat products have been an outstanding export success in recent years. Despite major challenges in the European market, Scottish beef and lamb export sales grew during 2011 to around £100 million. Europe now accounts for 90 per cent of Scottish beef export sales and Scottish beef is also the biggest selling Scottish food and drink brand in Britain.

This hard-won endorsement by consumers can only be maintained by constant vigilance to protect standards and speedy action by government when the industry’s reputation is threatened.

It was therefore encouraging yesterday to hear Richard Lochhead, cabinet secretary for rural affairs and the environment, say that the issue of horsemeat in the food chain is being taken very seriously by both the Scottish Government and the Food Standards Agency (FSA) Scotland. While there is no evidence of implications for human health, “it is”, he declared, “unacceptable that consumers are being misled and this cannot be tolerated”.

We agree that it is now vital that this issue is firmly on the agenda of Europe’s agricultural ministers so consumers can be assured that action is being taken to make sure there is no repeat of the horsemeat scandal. And the advice is wholly right that consumers look for the Scotch beef label to ensure they are able to enjoy some of the best meat products in the market place.

This is all to the good. But we need more than a one-off call. What is required is a plan of action in Scotland and a sustained promotional push if consumers’ fears are to be allayed.

Fair reasons to pay RBS boss bonus

Hard on the heels of a stinging £390 million fine for RBS over the Libor interest rate rigging scandal comes news that chief executive Stephen Hester is to receive a £780,000 bonus. It will strike many as outrageous that bonuses should continue to be paid while the bank, 81 per cent owned by the taxpayer, continues to be battered by scandals such as Libor manipulation and the mis-selling of Payment Protection Insurance.

However, there are mitigating circumstances here that should check a rush to judgment. First, the Libor malpractices and PPI mis-selling go back to 2005, long before Stephen Hester was brought in as chief executive. Second, he has received only one annual bonus since he joined in 2008. In the words of chairman Sir Philip Hampton, he has already received a severe level of claw-back by a different route.

When Hester arrived at RBS it was widely held that his top priority was deleveraging and the disposal of non-core assets. Here there has been considerable progress, and while much remains to be done, £500m of non-core assets have been sold.

Getting RBS back to health is seen as one of the most difficult jobs in the banking sector and justifies a level of remuneration sufficient to attract an executive who can achieve this. Moreover, it is almost certain his continuance as chief executive and the terms of that continuance are supported at the highest levels of government, even after last week’s searing FSA report.

That support, however, will be conditional on him not only making further progress in restoring the bank to financial health but in bringing about a culture change to ensure such scandals are never repeated.