Most voters hold "cautious, suspicious or outrightly hostile" views against genetically modified crops, a government consultation has found.

Published on Wednesday, the report said that those who took part in the "GM Nation?" debate were generally uneasy about the technology.

The report added that these reservations intensified as people looked further into the issues involved.

Environment secretary Margaret Beckett pledged to "reflect carefully" on the report's conclusions.

"This debate was a new way of engaging the public in the policy-making process," she said. "We said that we will listen, and we will."