Pirbright breaches ‘indefensible’ - Kendall

Speaking after the publication of the HSE and Spratt reports NFU president Peter Kendall warned the parties involved – the Institute of Animal, Merial Animal Health and Defra as the licensing authority – that they now face likely legal challenges.

He said last month’s outbreak cost the British livestock industry tens of millions of pounds.

“It is inevitable that farmers, and many others, will be asking lawyers to consider the case for seeking compensation through the courts for the losses they have suffered,” he said.

“We are in discussion with our lawyers about the possibility of seeking legal redress on behalf of our members, and will be making a further announcement on that, once we have had a chance to digest these reports and their implications.”

He said Defra had done a ‘very good job’, in partnership with the industry, in containing and eradicating the disease and getting the livestock sector back to something like normal within the shortest possible time frame.

But he added: “I find it well-nigh incredible and quite indefensible that standards should have been as lax as these reports appear to reveal, given that those concerned were handling some of the most dangerous animal viruses on the planet”

“This should never have been necessary. This was an outbreak that should never have happened.

Country Land and Business Association president David Fursdon said the was ‘shocking’ and would cause ‘understandable outrage’ among those who suffered financially from the outbreak.

“The efforts of farmers and other rural businesses to adhere to strict biosecurity measures for the good of the industry makes this news hard to swallow.

He questioned whether the outbreak was ‘the result of reduced budgets and therefore lack of resource or sheer incompetence’.

“Although the actual disease outbreak was successfully contained to a small area, it still caused widespread disruption and huge ongoing economic loss across the country and it could have been so much worse.

“The rural economy has already taken a significant financial hit for something they played no part in and have no ability to control.”

The Farmers Union of Wales is urging Welsh Rural Affairs Minister Elin Jones to seek compensation from Westminster for the losses suffered by Welsh farmers.

"The Government make great play of the phrase that the polluter pays. Now they must honour that policy themselves and make significant efforts to aid the industry,” said FUW president Gareth Vaughan.

“I cannot over emphasise the anger felt by the Welsh farming industry that a research facility set up to protect animal health has caused such damage to Welsh and UK agriculture.”

Conservative Shadow Environment Secretary Peter Ainsworth said it was ‘staggering’ that there was ‘not the slightest shred of an apology from Defra in its response’, despite the heavy losses incurred.

“Nor is it clear who is actually shouldering responsibility for the breaches of biosecurity,” he said.

He said a number of questions remained to be answered, including ‘when did Ministers first know that the effluent pipes and manholes were deficient?’ and ‘why was funding not made available to replace the pipes?’.

Liberal Democrat Shadow Defra Secretary, Chris Huhne MP said it was ‘shocking and appalling’ that facilities designed to protect British farming had actually damaged it.

He said ‘heads must roll’. “It is extraordinarily complacent that an effluent pipe was left unrepaired for three years in what was meant to be a high security bio-containment facility. Defra was warned, but completely failed to act,” he said.

“The farmers whose businesses have been destroyed now have the strongest possible claim against both Pirbright and the Department.”

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