diff --git a/uk/ac/sanger/artemis/components/FeatureEdit.java b/uk/ac/sanger/artemis/components/FeatureEdit.java
index aef7b067c7b6d505d711fc7101ffbb81a049715a..bf021cabfebd542a4b2194c81684a73d48a3cc20 100644
--- a/uk/ac/sanger/artemis/components/FeatureEdit.java
+++ b/uk/ac/sanger/artemis/components/FeatureEdit.java
@@ -138,7 +138,7 @@ public class FeatureEdit extends JPanel
    *  This is used to work out if anything has changed since the creation of
    *  the FeatureEdit.
    **/
-  final String orig_qualifier_text;
+  private final String orig_qualifier_text;
 
   private JFrame frame;