Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

I have talked to my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, and he and other Ministers have been supporting the tourism industry during the outbreak. One of the most important messages that we were able to send out—as a House, indeed—during the outbreak was that the countryside was open for business, unlike what had happened previously. Handling a disease outbreak is not easy, but the approach we have taken—which has been based on acting on a detailed contingency plan, using the best scientific advice and drawing upon the professionalism of the Animal Health agency—has been recognised to work. That is why The Guardian was able to say in a leader:"““Not only did DEFRA this year—in startling contrast to 2001—show signs of having a plan at the ready for dealing with foot and mouth; more importantly, it also showed that it understood how to implement it””." Peter Kendall, president of the National Farmers Union, with whom we have worked so closely along with others in the industry to deal with the outbreak, said that"““the industry has cause to be grateful to DEFRA's animal health officials who have striven to carry out the contingency plan operations to bring the recent outbreaks of FMD, then bluetongue disease and now Avian influenza under control.””" Let us contrast that with what the Opposition spokesman, hon. Member for East Surrey, wrote in The Daily Telegraph in September about DEFRA and Animal Health staff. He is a decent man, but he accused them of the"““ignorance of petty clipboard people, and of a disregard for the welfare of animals arising from either callousness or stupidity.””" I have met many of those people, and I think we should acknowledge that it has been their skill, their professionalism, their care and their commitment that was responsible for the praise they have received, and I hope the hon. Gentleman is now embarrassed by what he wrote.