The MP could face legal action

England have

Health minister Edwina Currie has provoked outrage by saying most of Britain's egg production is infected with the salmonella bacteria.

Mrs Currie, MP for south Derbyshire, made her remarks during a television interview.

She has angered farmers, politicians and egg producers, some of whom have been calling for her resignation and are threatening to sue.

"Most of the egg production in this country, sadly, is now affected with salmonella," she told reporters.

Ministry of Agriculture ministers are reported to be extremely "angry" at her comments.

A spokesman said more than 30 million eggs were consumed every day last year.

This is compared to 26 outbreaks of salmonella reported during that time.

Mrs Currie's officials in the Department of Health have been unable to provide evidence that most chickens are infected with salmonella.

Her comments have incensed the farming industry and egg producers who are expecting a sharp fall in egg consumption as a result.

The British Egg Industry Council said it was seeking legal advice on whether it could sue Mrs Currie over "factually incorrect and highly irresponsible" remarks.

A spokesman said the risk of an egg being infected with salmonella was less than 200 million to one.

The National Farmers' Union said it might seek legal damages.

Mrs Currie has been unavailable for comment since her remarks were made.

She has represented her constituency since 1983 and was made junior health minister in 1986.

During her short time at the Department of Health, Mrs Currie has courted controversy with her outspoken opinions.

She upset northerners when she claimed they were dying of "ignorance and chips".

And she was branded patronising and callous for advising the elderly to broach the winter months with a pair of long-johns.

One of her most controversial remarks was on the subject of Aids.

She said: "Good Christian people who would not dream of misbehaving will not catch Aids."    

The factory was closed immediately after the accident

The accident happened in the early hours of this morning at the American-owned Union Carbide Pesticide Plant three miles (4.8 km) from Bhopal.

Mr Y P Gokhale, managing director of Union Carbide in India, said that methyl isocyanate gas (MIC) had escaped when a valve in the plant's underground storage tank broke under pressure.

This caused a deadly cloud of lethal gas to float from the factory over Bhopal, which is home to more than 900,000 people - many of whom live in slums.

Chaos and panic broke out in the city and surrounding areas as tens of thousands of people attempted to escape.

More than 20,000 people have required hospital treatment for symptoms including swollen eyes, frothing at the mouth and breathing difficulties.

Thousands of dead cats, dogs, cows and birds litter the streets and the city's mortuaries are filling up fast.

Bhopal resident, Ahmed Khan, said: "We were choking and our eyes were burning. We could barely see the road through the fog, and sirens were blaring.

"We didn't know which way to run. Everybody was very confused.

"Mothers didn't know their children had died, children didn't know their mothers had died and men didn't know their whole families had died."

The Union Carbide factory was closed immediately after the accident and three senior members of staff arrested.

Medical and scientific experts have been dispatched to the scene and the Indian government has ordered a judicial inquiry.

It is understood the Indian Prime Minister, Rajiv Gandhi, will be flying to the area within the next few days. 

salmonella: rod-shaped gram-negative enterobacteria; cause typhoid fever and food poisoning; can be used as a bioweapon（沙門氏菌）