A senior scientist dismissed from Grasslands for serious misconduct is fighting his former employers, who say his actions could have caused a risk to bio security, the environment, and people's health and safety. [...] Dr Kardailsky was conducting experiments with genetically modified ryegrass plants. He was on annual leave on May 24 when a colleague emailed him to say the ryegrass plants were flowering and those flowers needed to be cut back or bagged to prevent pollen spread. [...] But in his reply, Dr Kardailsky asked the colleague not to cut any of the flowering heads of the grass, saying he would look at them on his return to work.