Summary
Politicians - and ministers in particular - should be capable of working to a brief, whatever their personal experiences and preferences. But it would be unusual to have a committed pacifist at the Foreign Office and impossible to imagine a conscientious objector taking the role of Defence Secretary.
Those examples fall at the very extreme end of the spectrum, but it is fair to say that eyebrows were raised in livestock farming circles when Gordon Brown appointed committed vegetarian Hilary Benn to become Secretary of State at Defra. Would a man who, on moral grounds, opposed the rearing, slaughtering and eating of animals be able to stand up and fight for an industry based around the production of meat?See the full content of this document
Extract
Farming Key to Defra's Future
Today, in his first full interview with the Western Morning News since taking on the role, Mr Benn does not feel the need to discuss his vegetarianism and - to be frank...
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