Horsemeat scandal: "There may be gross incompetence" - Paterson

The environment secretary is to meet representatives from the Food Standards Agency and meat retailers and suppliers later to discuss the horsemeat scandal.

Owen Paterson said investigations into how beef products had been contaminated with horsemeat were ongoing but "the evidence so far suggests... it's either international criminal activity or gross negligence".

He added: "People have got to go into the shops today quite confident that if they buy a product marked beef, it contains beef".