Government advisers have recommended in a report that permission to grow GM crops must not be given unless the law protecting the environment is strengthened.

The Agriculture and Environment Biotechnology Commission, which was set up to advise the government on bio-science issues, said that consumer choice should be at the heart of any future GM food policy.

Commission chairman, Professor Malcolm Grant, said farmers growing GM crops should follow legally enforceable rules to ensure minimal cross-contamination with nearby crops.

He said: “We have made no assumptions whether the commercial growing of GM crops will get the go-ahead or not. Like the country as a whole the commission is made up of people with very different views on GM. Crucially, we have been able to agree on a series of recommendations which the government will need to take into account.”