The Cabinet/MAFF/NFU
Position On F&M
The Foot-and-mouth fight stepped up The prime minister has announced a "massive upgrading" of resources to fight foot-and mouth, but warned it would be "a long haul" before the disease was eradicated. 

Announcing the postponement of the local elections until June, Tony Blair said he had taken into account the feelings of local communities that had been "profoundly affected and disturbed" by the crisis. 

He said there was the need for national and local politicians to be "focused on the fight against foot-and-mouth disease, as we put in place the machinery necessary to deal with any eventuality". 

His announcement comes as the Army prepares two more mass burial sites in the north-east of England for the disposal of thousands of slaughtered carcasses. 

The controversial decision about whether to vaccinate livestock against foot-and-mouth disease has been further delayed by the Ministry of Agriculture. 

Arriving at a meeting of Maff officials and the Army in Cumbria, Agriculture Minister Nick Brown said the issue was "still under review". 

Tony Blair is to have further meetings during the day to consider vaccination - an issue that has deeply divided farmers. 

The government has now given the go-ahead for the burial of thousands of cattle carcasses in Cumbria, which had been held for 24 hours because of fears about a risk to public health.

The operation to bury 20 lorry loads of carcasses was put on hold at Great Orton in Cumbria, because the Department of Health was concerned about the risk of mad cow disease, or BSE.

The number of outbreaks in the UK has now reached 919.

More than 940,000 animals have been earmarked for slaughter, with 353,000 waiting to be killed and 166,000 carcasses awaiting disposal.

Mr Blair said the practical means and resources to deal with the disease had been dramatically stepped-up.

But he warned: "In 1967, it took over eight months and this outbreak, because of the vast number of sheep movements up and down the country before the disease was detected, is far tougher to deal with."

He reiterated that Britain was "open for business" and asked the media to reflect the fact that most of the UK was free of foot-and-mouth disease.

The English Tourism Council has set up a "tourism cabinet" to work out a foot-and-mouth recovery plan for the industry, with an immediate focus on the vital Easter and May bank holidays.

To speed up the disposal of carcasses in the disease hotspot of Cumbria, a former open quarry near Ashington in Northumberland will start to receive carcasses on Tuesday.

This is in addition to a landfill site in County Durham - unveiled on Friday - which will be used to bury up to 150,000 carcasses. 

Some farmers have condemned the cull of health animals as "unnecessary slaughter", with calls for more research to be carried out before a decision is taken on using vaccines.

Many farmers have warned the policy would end Britain's disease-free status and could mean 1bn lost in meat export revenues.

On Monday, publisher-turned-organic farmer Peter Kindersley withdrew his High Court challenge to the government's policy of slaughtering healthy animals.

A spokeswoman for Mr Kindersley said his aim had been to put the vaccination option onto the agenda, and not to hinder Maff in its battle against the disease.

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