Do not abandon us, NFU asks gov
UK on Tuesday, National Farmers Union president Ben Gill told the
Prime Minister, "You...
As the number of confirmed foot-and-mouth cases reached 204 in the UK on Tuesday, National Farmers Union president Ben Gill told the Prime Minister, "You must not abandon us". In an emergency meeting at Downing Street on Tuesday morning, the NFU stressed that there was little doubt the situation would get worse before it gets better and every possible resource must be pumped into fighting the disease. The Prime Minister Tony Blair reassured the NFU and and stressed that the Government would put in all the resources needed to rid the country of foot-and-mouth disease. Ben Gill transmitted the doubts of the farming community in particular their concern that infected animals are not being slaughtered and disposed of quickly enough. He thanked the British public for their support and called on them to demand British meat, especially in the face of an onslaught of imported produce. New measures to combat the disease are expected to be announced today by the Ministry of Agriculture.
