E.coli deaths 'must be prevented'

Sharon Mills was speaking after a report was published on the 2005 outbreak in the south Wales valleys which infected 157 people and killed her son, Mason Jones.

Professor Hugh Pennington, who headed a public inquiry, laid blame for the Welsh outbreak - which struck 44 schools and was the second largest in the UK - "squarely on the shoulders of William Tudor", the butcher who supplied the meat.

Prof Pennington said in his report lessons learned following E.coli infections in Scotland in 1996 had been forgotten. Making 24 recommendations the professor, who also chaired the Scottish inquiry, said this must not be allowed to happen again.

He blamed the Welsh outbreak on butcher William Tudor, of Clemenstone, Cowbridge, who had "a significant disregard for food safety".

The butcher was jailed for a year in September 2007 after admitting placing unsafe food on the market and failing as proprietor of a business to protect food against the risk of contamination.

"We owe it to the memory of Mason Jones to learn the lessons from this outbreak and to remember them," he said.

Mason's 34-year-old mother, from Deri, near Bargoed, said she was determined to see the latest recommendations were followed.

"There is no excuse for the serious failings which occurred which ultimately led to the E.coli outbreak," said Ms Mills.

"Abattoirs' reliance on self regulation leads to business owners cutting corners which is what has led to the tragedy. On Mother's Day 2014 I don't want to be standing here sympathising with another family that has lost a child from E.coli 0157."