UK prime minister Tony Blair is set to announce today that the battle against the foot and mouth virus is nearly over.
Go deeper with GlobalData
Discover B2B Marketing That Performs
Combine business intelligence and editorial excellence to reach engaged professionals across 36 leading media platforms.
The announcement will come during Downing Street’s first formal press conference on the crisis, which will see Blair joined by agriculture minister Nick Brown, chief vet Jim Scudamore and chief scientific adviser Professor David King. Blair is expected to say: “”It is clear that we are winning the battle against foot-and-mouth. We have the right policy. It is working.” It is also thought that he will comment on the effective control of the disease, which has been better handled than in 1967.
He will point out that the backlog of slaughtered animals is steadily being cleared. The last of the Devon backlog is expected to be burned later today, after which the Ministry of Agriculture (Maff) officials will stop using pyres to dispose of slaughtered animals. Blair will also argue that as the number of new cases appearing every day continues its rapid decline, “the trend of the disease is clear.”
Although he has occasionally warned against complacency, Blair’s confidence is in stark contrast to the feelings of Anthony Gibson, southwest regional director of the National Farmers’ Union. A new case of foot and mouth appeared in Somerset yesterday. Only the second in the county, the case was confirmed ten days after Somerset had been declared free of the virus. Gibson described the confirmation as “shattering news.”
The Conservative Party is also putting a dampener on Blair’s confident claims, arguing that the belated government action to control the disease has driven the need for good sound bites, prompting a policy change that saved the calf Phoenix and the scheduling of this press conference so close to the general election.
US Tariffs are shifting - will you react or anticipate?
Don’t let policy changes catch you off guard. Stay proactive with real-time data and expert analysis.
By GlobalDataDuring the Prime Minister’s questions programme yesterday, Blair revealed that many of the foot and mouth restrictions were now being lifted. Shadow agriculture minister Tim Yeo responded: “We welcome any improvement in the outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease and if the numbers are getting better that is excellent news. But there must be a genuine improvement. We must not relax policy until it is safe to do so merely because there may be an election coming up.”
News also emerged this week that school pupils due to sit exams this summer will find their grades given special consideration if the foot and mouth crisis affected their study and coursework. Some pupils have claimed emotional distress due to the countryside crisis and taken time off school.
Life is just getting better for Phoenix meanwhile, the week old calf saved from slaughter by a government policy turnaround and adopted by the nation as a symbol of hope during the crisis. This Christmas she is due to star in pantomime at Wimbledon Theatre, opposite leading man Shane Richie.
