THE GOVERNMENT has been accused of panic and "a catalogue of mismanagement" during the foot and mouth outbreak which devastated large parts of North Yorkshire.

The 200-page report of the Lessons Learned inquiry, chaired by Iain Anderson, criticises ministers for "incompetence" and the "primary mistake" of not calling in the army in the first week of the epidemic.

The report said the scale of the outbreak could have been reduced if the army had been called in sooner. In the end, 10m animals were killed. FMD cost the economy at least £8 billion.

Ministers were also criticised for the blanket closure of footpaths, which sent out a message to tourists that Britain was closed for business.

The first case was discovered in a pig at an Essex abattoir on February 19. The following day a limited ban on livestock movements was imposed; a national ban was imposed three days later. One scientist said that had the full ban been imposed at the outset, the scale of the disease would have been halved.

On the controversial contiguous culling, despite questioning of the Prime Minister and several ministers, the inquiry was unable to discover who made that decision.

The report also highlighted that in the panic and mounting tensions, ministers and officials reacted too slowly, did not fully understand farming practices and failed to call in the army soon enough, even though that was recommended by the inquiry that followed the 1967 epidemic.

Early in the outbreak, vaccination had been considered but was not called on because it was deemed impractical. National Farmers' Union president Ben Gill is reported to have said last April that farmers feared vaccination would destroy the home market for their meat. Food companies also resisted vaccination, saying it would undermine confidence in British produce.

In response to the report, Mr Gill denied that he was wrong to oppose the use of vaccinations early on during the crisis. A later Government report had confirmed it would have been wrong to begin using partial vaccinations "in March or April", he said.

Mr Gill welcomed the inquiry's findings that the Government did not respond quickly enough to the early stages of the disease.

"We are pleased the inquiry has reported quickly. It is vital we apply the lessons learned and the Government gives a clear commitment to provide sufficient resources to deal effectively with animal diseases in the future."

The inquiry praised the "blue-box" movement restrictions in the Thirsk area, which was seen as a key weapon in the fight to stop foot and mouth hitting the East Yorkshire pig-rearing heartland.

The Lessons Learned report contains a number of recommendations, including: The state veterinary service should pass on more decision-making to local vets; increase efforts to keep foot and mouth out of the UK and EU; the 20-day ban should remain pending risk assessment; develop contingency plans in consultation with all interested parties and the plans to be rehearsed; electronic livestock tagging and a new data base on livestock, farming and market practices.

Ryedale MP John Greenway said: "This report confirms two elements which we have long suspected.

"Firstly, there was complete disarray within MAFF about how to deal with the outbreak. Those people who rubbished William Hague when he called for the army to be used right at the start should now eat their words.

"Also, there was no unanimity among farmers about vaccination. There were some within my constituency, with rare breeds, who were crying out for it."

Speaking in advance of her statement in the Commons, Mrs Margaret Beckett said much of the criticism benefited from "20-20 hindsight".

Updated: 09:22 Wednesday, July 24, 2002