Foot-and-mouth cases top 300

The number of confirmed cases of foot-and-mouth in Britain has now topped 300 as the controversy over the planned mass cull of healthy animals continues.

The Ministry of Agriculture says there are 303 confirmed cases of the disease in the UK and one in Northern Ireland.

Agriculture Minister Nick Brown has admitted a mass cull in Devon could not be ruled out. Plans for a mass cull in Cumbria and in Dumfries and Galloway have been put on hold until the Government meets farmers and vets to explain the policy.

The Centre For Economics and Business Research has estimated disruption from the crisis will cost the UK economy £9bn.

Former agriculture minister and Tory peer Lord Walker says the Government's response to the outbreak was "an unbelievable story of incompetence and lack of action".

The cull to stamp out the disease has already started in two farms in north Scotland that have links to infected markets.

Slaughtering began yesterday, the Scottish Executive said, in a move separate from the MAFF-instituted cull in England. The Executive took an independent decision to kill infected animals. MAFF makes policy decisions on behalf of England.

Mr Brown told a briefing at MAFF headquarters: "The whole country has got to be on the same side and bearing down on the disease, and it is not helpful to try and frustrate the Government's disease control measures.

"Our disease control measures will work best if we can get a consensus. I know it is incredibly hard and how worried farmers must be, which is why I have asked Jim (Scudamore) to go up to explain to fair-minded farmers, who I think will understand it is necessary.

"Any war being fought should be against the disease, not against the authorities trying to contain it."