With a case of highly contagious Foot and Mouth Disease confirmed in Germany, Shadow DEFRA Minister and veterinary surgeon Dr Neil Hudson, triggered an Urgent Question in the Commons to seek urgent information from the UK Government about their response, and demanding that they fully fund our biosecurity defences or risk catastrophe being enacted to our farmers, their mental health, our economy, our food security and our international standing.
A landmark report from the National Audit Office found that the Animal and Plant Health agency required £2.8 billion to redevelop its headquarters in Weybridge and keep the site operational and resilient. The previous Conservative Government invested £1.2 billion to initiate works, but the new Labour Government has so far committed only £200 million, rather than the £1.6 billion needed to complete works in full. This could leave the nation at serious risk of a major disease outbreak should Foot and Mouth Disease reach UK livestock populations.
The Urgent Question he triggered has a particularly personal element for Dr Hudson who, as the first vet elected to the House of Commons since 1884, was on the frontline of the 2001 Foot and Mouth Crisis overseeing some of the grim culls that came to symbolise the crisis.
The 2001 Crisis saw 6 million animals slaughtered across the UK, enacted incalculable trauma on rural populations, and cost the public and private sector approximately £13.9 billion in 2023/4 prices - highlighting just how destructive the disease would be if it were to enter the UK.
The recent confirmation of the disease in Germany has triggered new concerns about the UK's animal disease outbreak preparedness and Dr Hudson is continuing to hold Government to account over biosecurity preparedness.
Speaking afterwards Dr Neil Hudson, Shadow DEFRA Minister, veterinary surgeon, and MP for Epping Forest, said:
"I welcome decisive action taken by the Chief Veterinary Officer in banning German imports and all the hard work undertaken by individuals at the Animal and Plant Health Agency, but without committing to fully funding their headquarters, Ministers are leaving our biosecurity vulnerable.
"If, heaven forbid, Foot and Mouth were to enter the UK and infect our farm livestock the destruction would reach far beyond farmers and the countryside. The impacts of Foot and Mouth on the mental health of people involved must never be under-estimated. The disease would also impact the availability and cost of food; it would devastate our rural economy, our trade standing and our critical agri-food sector; and could even pose a risk to human public health if the APHA's capacity was stretched.
"This is a stark wake up call for decision makers and I will continue to urge that the Government continue the work started by the previous Government and fully redevelop our APHA HQ to protect the UK’s biosecurity in the long term.”
The UK's Chief Veterinary Officer, Dr Christine Middlemiss, has urged livestock keepers to exercise the upmost vigilance for signs of disease, follow scrupulous biosecurity and report any suspicion of disease immediately to the APHA. She added that her teams are in constant contact with their German counterparts and will use all available measures to limit the spread of disease.
Dr Hudson has long-campaigned to bolster the UK's animal disease capabilities. You can read more about his concerted efforts here:
- Dr Neil Hudson MP urges Labour to continue Conservative work to protect UK biosecurity, or face the dire consequences
- In the media: Veterinary MP Dr Neil Hudson sounds Biosecurity alarm over illegal meat imports
- Dr Neil Hudson writes in the Daily Express urging the Chancellor to properly fund UK’s Biosecurity ahead of the Budget
- Dr Neil Hudson MP urges Government to Protect Food Security and Biosecurity
- Dr Neil Hudson MP calls on Labour Government to protect UK biosecurity against major animal disease threats
Dr Hudson's full intervention in the House of Commons:
"Thank you, Mr Speaker, and thank you for granting this question.
"I declare a strong personal and professional interest as a Veterinary Surgeon I supervised some of the animal culls in the 2001 outbreak, witnessing sights I never want to see again in my lifetime, Mr Speaker.
"The confirmation on January 10th of Foot and Mouth Disease in Germany, with subsequent slaughter and movement restrictions is sending shockwaves around Europe and the UK. We have requested this question as no statement has been provided to the House on Monday or Tuesday. My colleague, the Shadow DEFRA Secretary, is not able to be with us today as she is at the LAMMA Show in Birmingham speaking to agricultural manufacturers and farmers.
"In 2001, the Foot and Mouth outbreak resulted in more than 6 million animals being culled and cost £12.8 billion in today's prices. It devastated the farming community and farmers want reassurance that action is being taken to protect our borders, their livestock and their livelihoods. The mental health impacts of Foot and Mouth, Mr Speaker, cannot be overstated.
"Can the Minister reassure us that the announced movement restrictions are fully in place for animals and products coming to the UK from the affected area? Will the Government think about extending the ban to personal imports of meat and milk products unless accompanied by veterinary documentation? And can he update us on the work tracing possible movements of products from Germany? Also, what advice is there about movement of people and vehicles from the area in terms of fomite transmission of the virus?
"And heaven forbid Mr Speaker, if Foot and Mouth ever entered the United Kingdom what is the situation regarding vaccine supply and potential deployment?
"Finally, I want to again pay tribute the Chief Vets, the veterinary, animal officers, scientists, and officials at the Animal and Plant Health Agency who do so much to keep our country biosecure.
"This Foot and Mouth Disease wake-up call is yet more evidence that the Government must now commit to fully fund the redevelopment of the APHA HQ in Weybridge. I call and I urge the Government from the bottom of my heart, Mr Speaker, to fully fund that redevelopment to make sure that the burning pyres of slaughtered animals, as well as the economic and mental health devastation of Foot and Mouth disease, remain resolutely confined to the history books."
