As beleaguered farmers prepared for another weekend of uncertainty, ministers were accused of ignoring the lessons from the 2001 disaster by refusing to inoculate livestock close to infected areas.

That mistake - later admitted by the Government - led to millions of animals being needlessly slaughtered.

Yesterday the chief vet, Dr Debby Reynolds, ruled out emergency vaccination for the time being, and a report into the outbreak said the risk of the disease spreading out of Surrey was "low".

The report also found the most likely source of the outbreak was the Pirbright lab site, used by vaccine manufacturer Merial and the state-run Institute for Animal Health.

Since the first case of foot and mouth disease was found last Friday, two farms have been infected and 576 cattle, pigs, sheep and goats culled.

Source: ThisIsLondon