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PM says Britain's farms open for business

Last Modified: 10 Aug 2007
By: Tom Clarke

Britain "is open for business" - Gordon Brown's reassurance today as he announced extra compensation for farmers affected by the foot and mouth outbreak.

The government's chief vet said the disease was unlikely to spread outside Surrey, and confirmed it was "very likely" the contamination at two farms in the county had come from the Pirbright laboratories nearby.

"We have restricted the disease to a limited area of this country. The chief veterinary officer now believes the risk of it spreading outside these areas is low if not negligible."
Gordon Brown, Prime Minister

The results of tests at a third Surrey farm have come back negative, but attention has now shifted to another premises.

Wotton Farm, near Dorking, is outside the ten-kilometre surveillance zone that's been set up around the two farms where confirmed outbreaks have occurred.

Our science correspondent Tom Clarke reports from Surrey.