Prime Minister Gordon Brown has scrapped his family holiday in Cornwall to take charge of an outbreak of Foot and Mouth which has been confirmed at a farm in Surrey tonight.
A nationwide ban on the movement of all sheep, cattle and pigs was immediately announced and all livestock on the affected farm near Guildford are to be slaughtered.
The last major outbreak of foot and mouth in 2001 led to the slaughter of millions of animals and had a devastating impact on the farming and tourist industries.
I understand that Gordon Brown chaired an emergency meeting tonight by telephone and will return from his family holiday in Cornwall in the morning to chair further meetings in Downing Street.
Environment Minister Hillary Benn is also returning from his holiday to deal with the outbreak.
Let's hope the disease can be contained and isolated as quickly as possible.
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