Blair meets Gill at Downing Street

26 February 2001



Blair meets Gill at Downing Street

By FWi staff

TONY Blair summoned farm leader Ben Gill to Downing Street as the government confirmed a twelfth outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease.

Mr Gill, president the National Farmers Union, met Mr Blair on Monday (26 February) to discuss Britains nightmare foot-and-mouth crisis.

Panic is sweeping the farming community and the situation is becoming more serious with every passing hour, the Prime Minister was told.

In a statement before the meeting, Mr Gill said: “This is a nightmare for the whole farming community. People are scared out of their wits.”

The meeting came as agriculture minister Nick Brown told the House of Commons that more cases of foot-and-mouth are likely to be uncovered.

Livestock on 11 further Devon farms connected to the outbreak at a holding run by Willie Cleave at Highampton will now be slaughtered.

“A decision was taken at lunchtime today to kill the remaining animals on the several premises in Devon under the same ownership,” said Mr Brown.

Livestock on a neighbouring farm which are in dangerous contact with the Highampton outbreak will also be destroyed, he added.

Mr Brown continued: “Investigations are continuing into a number of other premises where there is reason to believe there may be disease.”

Earlier, Mr Gill and Mr Brown discussed the need to ensure that the valuation, slaughter and incineration of animals happens as quickly as possible.

Mr Gill stressed that it was absolutely vital that members of the public and media kept out of the countryside until the disease is eradicated.

The NFU will be talking to local authorities in affected asking to look at how they can minimise public access, he added.

“Drastic problems call for drastic solutions,” said Mr Gill.

They also discussed the likely continuing ban on movements after Friday and what action could be taken to alleviate the problems this will cause.

Mr Gill said: “We have to work on the grim assumption that the ban will still be in place with all the ensuing difficulties from this.

“But we both agreed that the clear priority now, over and above the very serious concerns that farmers rightly have, is to exterminate this dreadful disease.”

Foot-and-mouth cases and links