14 March 2003
MPs have slammed the government's handling of the 2001 foot and mouth crisis as 'inexcusable', claiming ministers' slow reaction to events contributed to the spread of the disease and meant the cost to the UK spiralled to £9bn.
A damning report by the Commons' Public Accounts Committee, published on March 14, blames the former Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (Maff) and its successor, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) for escalating the crisis.
The committee said its lack of adequate contingency plans for a countrywide outbreak was a major reason for the rapid spread of the disease, which cost the public sector £3bn, left more than 2,000 premises infected and meant more than 6 million animals were slaughtered.
'The department could have done many things differently,' the PAC said. 'For example, it should have imposed a national movement ban from the first day; it should have kept the countryside open and not allowed the blanket closure of footpaths for such a long time; and it should have not disposed of carcasses on mass funeral pyres.'
The MPs also backed claims by the National Audit Office that the private sector lost around £6bn because ministers failed to realise that it was the tourism industry, and not agriculture, that was most exposed to the knock-on effects.
The committee, chaired by Conservative MP Edward Leigh, found that the ministry's contingency plans were based on just ten premises becoming infected. In the event, at least 57 sites were infected by the time the first case was diagnosed.
Ministers also ignored the lessons of a similar outbreak in 1967, the report claims.
In particular, they failed to decide on a clear vaccination policy to help slow the spread of the disease and did not call on the military to help quickly enough.
The report is scathing about the department's relations with farmers during and after the crisis. Farmers received £1.4bn in compensation for slaughtered animals, but were allowed to make their own assessments of the value of their stocks.
Other costs spiralled needlessly too. 'The department was in a weak position and had to pay a premium to get things done at maximum speed,' MPs added.
A spokesman for Defra claimed ministers 'had already taken action' on the key issues raised by the PAC.
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