Foot and Mouth - Government not to blame. But they will pay compensation?

I found a good one in the Hansard written answers from this Tuesday:

Q. Mr. Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will make a statement on compensation to farmers who have been affected by export bans arising from the most recent foot and mouth outbreak.

A. Jonathan Shaw: It is a long established principle that the Government do not meet the costs of consequential losses which must be borne by the industry. However, we are acutely aware of the difficulties facing the industry at this time and my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State (Hilary Benn), announced on 8 October a compensation package for England worth £12.5 million.

When I put this answer through Norton Security's Spin Filter (not a real application but probably should be) it spat out this waffle free answer:

A. Jonathan Shaw: It is a long established principle that the Government do not meet the costs of consequential losses which must be borne by the industry. However, we are acutely aware that the blame for this outbreak is totally and utterly ours. It escaped from a poorly maintained and pathetically underfunded government laboratory and my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State (Hilary Benn), announced on 8 October a compensation package for England worth £12.5 million. Now can you please stop asking these embarrassing questions.