I have no qualms about paying for and eating horsemeat that is labelled as horsemeat, 3T. The "hysteria" you witter on about was because it was products labelled as being "beef" - Not "meat", or "mostly beef" - in which the horsemeat was found - so the consumer is left both unaware and out of pocket. And since this horsemeat was not controlled and regulated as being for human consumption, doubts should be raised over it's possible health impact.
The consumer should be rightly irritated at passing off and fraud by greedy bastards trying to pull a fast one.
I am all for selling horsemeat as horsemeat, if you can find a market for it, but I suspect the UK customer base is too sentimental - if however it is offered at a good discount when compared to, say, beef, then pragmatism may overrule that sentiment.