FARM leaders in Ireland yesterday warned that a possible new leak of foot and mouth disease in Britain was a matter of great concern.

The remaining restrictions on livestock imposed in the wake of the foot-and-mouth outbreak in the UK will be lifted today after experts declared the disease had been eradicated.

Official reports into the recent foot-and-mouth outbreak are being published today – and are expected to say faulty drainage pipes at a nearby laboratory could have released the disease.

The recent foot and mouth outbreak in the UK could have been caused by faulty drainage pipes at the nearby Pirbright laboratories or spread by construction workers from the site, it was reported today.

There is a “strong possibility” that the Pirbright laboratory facility is the source of the foot-and-mouth outbreak, it was announced tonight.