'Whitewash' on foot and mouth payouts

THE government was yesterday accused of a "whitewash" after refusing to compensate Scottish farmers who lost out because of a foot-and-mouth outbreak at a state laboratory in England.

UK-wide restrictions placed on the movement of livestock after the outbreak last year – which was traced to a government animal research laboratory in Pirbright, Surrey – caused "significant economic hardship" among farmers north of the Border, a report commissioned by the Prime Minister found earlier this year.

This was because the movement ban came at a time when sheep were due to be taken from the hills to market and "light" lambs were left to the mercy of the oncoming winter weather.

Now Downing Street, in a reply to a petition on the Number 10 website, said it was a "long-established principle" that any losses suffered as a consequence of a livestock ban "must be borne by the industry".

Mike Weir, the SNP MP for Angus, said: "The UK government's response is a complete whitewash. Scottish farmers and crofters suffered because of lapses at a laboratory in southern England. UK ministers are hiding behind the claim that they were only the regulators of the site."