Cheesemaker demands £400,000 after produce vindicated in court

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Humphrey Errington, 74, can sell his cheese again after succeeding in a legal case against South Lanarkshire Council, which wanted it declared unsafe to eat.

The council had called for his goods to be destroyed after an E.coli outbreak that killed a child.

However, Sheriff Robert Weir, sitting at Hamilton Sheriff Court, ruled that Errington Cheese did not fall foul of any safety rules and lifted an order preventing the sale of its Lanark Blue and Corra Linn cheeses being sold.

The case has cost Mr Errington £350,000 to defend and the taxpayer £500,000.

The cheesemonger said: “We have asked for compensation for the costs of defending the case. We have legal costs, costs for storing cheese and loss of cheese.

“People may ask why taxpayers in South Lanarkshire should be forced to pay this bill if we are successful but the real culprit is Food Standards Scotland who forced the issue.

“The sheriff does seem to have some degree of sympathy towards us on the issue of expenses given the public interest in the case both from a council point of view and our own.”

He added: “It is a relief that they are not going to appeal the judgement and all that that would have entailed.

“We had letters from the council that did seem to suggest an appeal was coming and that was a great worry for us.”

A South Lanarkshire Council spokesman said: “The council will fully comply with the order from the sheriff who has indicated he will make a written decision on expenses within seven days.”

A spokesman for Food Standards Scotland (FSS) said: “Food Standards Scotland’s actions and decisions throughout this incident were based on the best available evidence and were taken in the interests of public safety.

“Our priority will always be the protection of public health.”