The Prime Minister has let it be known that he has taken personal charge of the foot and mouth crisis. At the outset, it was hoped that strict containment and destruction of infected herds would be enough.

Drastic measures

Since then, the Ministry has lurched into ever more drastic measures, at every stage attracting accusations of muddle and delay. Can Mr Blair and his COBRA team - the emergency Cabinet group - change things?

The initial signs are mixed. At the Great Orton airfield in Cumbria, for instance, the Environment Agency agreed this morning that vast numbers of animals could be buried: but a Ministry of Agriculture Inspector still had to give approval.

Nick Brown tries to clarify things

And then there's the question of cattle in the areas of preventive culling. First it was said they'd be included, then they'd be spared.

Today's discovery of the first case in the Lake District National Park - in the Dudden Valley near Coniston Water - poses a potential threat to the entire 75,000 flock of Herdwick sheep which range across the fells.

Culled or killed?

If they had to be killed, the grassland would suffer: in the words of one park manager - picturesque pasture could be reduced to undistinguished scrub land.

"People are now back to the perception that the area is closed"Quote Here

Karen Carter

Karen Carter, who works for the Lake District Park Authority, told The World at One how a single case in the southern part of the park was already bringing the whole area to a standstill.

While new locations continue to be added to the list of infected areas, many feel frustrated that there has so often been a gap between official statements and action on the ground - and that confusion still hangs over elements of the new tougher policy.

Tourists keep out?

We spoke to Julian Salmon, Director of the Counrty Landowners & Business Association in Wales, who told us that he believes the government underestimated the scale of the problem from the start.