A hotelier who allegedly served beef on the bone has passed the first legal hurdle in a bid to prove the regulations banning the product were "absurd".

James Sutherland, 44, believed to be the first person in Britain to be prosecuted under the bone-ban regulations, was supported by a demonstration of more than 100 farmers when he arrived at Selkirk Sheriff Court in the Scottish Borders.

After a brief procedural hearing Sheriff James Paterson adjourned the case to April 6, when five days have been set aside for a preliminary hearing into the legality of the regulations.

Sutherland: charged with supplying beef 'attached to the bone'

Dozens of people gathered outside the court to cheer Mr Sutherland who is accused of supplying beef roasted "while still attached to the bone", contrary to the 1990 Food Safety Act and the 1997 Beef Bones Regulations.

The ban was announced by the Agriculture Secretary, Dr Jack Cunningham, last December amid protests from farmers and butchers.

The government said the move followed advice from its scientific experts that there is a possible risk of BSE "mad cow disease" being transmitted through bone marrow.

The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food said if butchers broke the ban, penalties of up to �1,000, and or six months in jail, could be imposed under the Food Safety Act.

The prosecution of Mr Sutherland follows a high-profile meal at his hotel on December 22, within days of the ban.

The meal, at Mr Sutherland's Carfraemill Hotel at Lauder, was attended by 170 people, and attracted wide publicity.

The proceedings are likely to be a test case for other court actions elsewhere in Britain.

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