LEADING environmental health officials dealing with the E-coli outbreak feared taking compulsory action against Wishaw butcher John Barr in case they were later sued by the business, the inquiry into the 21 deaths heard yesterday.

Mr Jeffery Tonner, 51, North Lanarkshire's principal environmental health officer at the time, said officials feared legal action if they wrongly targeted Mr Barr as the source of the outbreak.

He said that was one reason why the decision was made to seek Mr Barr's co-operation rather than force a closure of the shop, or force him to stop selling cooked meats.

He told depute fiscal Ian McCann that the earlier case of Lanark Blue cheese, which left South Lanarkshire with a huge legal bill, was discussed leading up to health officials' first meeting with the butcher.

Mr Tonner also admitted that at that meeting at Mr Barr's home on Friday November 22, no inquiries were made as to any outlets supplied by Mr Barr.

Mr Tonner also said that he and a colleague stopped outside Mr Barr's premises for ''about half a minute'' and noted that the business was split between a butchers shop and a bakers shop. However, they did not go round the back, and therefore had no way of knowing about the ''factory'' part of the premises at the rear.

The inquiry continues.