A contract firm which cleaned up farms in Wales during last year's foot-and-mouth crisis claims it is owed millions of pounds by the government.

David Hepworth of Farm Assist International told BBC Wales that he is owed �9m by the Department of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

Defra says a number of "concerns" were raised with the farm's managers and a spokesperson said the department had a duty to taxpayers to carry out a forensic examination of claims submitted by contractors.

Sub contractors were used for much of the work

But Mr Hepworth says he has not been able to pay sub contractors, and he warns that if there was another disease outbreak, such as swine fever, many companies would refuse to co-operate.

Meanwhile, a leaked e-mail to BBC Wales shows that Welsh Assembly ministers in Cardiff Bay are being asked to "toe the line" with Westminster's views on the outbreak.

Plaid Cymru MP Simon Thomas said it was wrong not to allow the assembly to commission an independent report on foot-and-mouth for Wales.

Compensation

Hereford-based Farm Assist International was asked to supply equipment to help in the clear up on farms, including building funeral pyres and sterilising infected areas.

At the height of the epidemic the company employed 800 staff, working on 171 farms in south east Wales and the west of England.

The firm had a written contract at the start of the crisis in March 2001, but individual instructions were then given verbally over the telephone.

They (the government) pressurised you into doing the work, but when it comes to paying, they have bottled out

Steve Holder, sub contractor

A year on from the crisis, Farm Assist International is still waiting to be paid and says all its paperwork was in order.

Defra brought in specialist accountants to sift through claims from 100 farms and contractors.

David Hepworth: 'Unbelievable'

"I have asked so many questions - I asked Defra to have a representative at my offices to oversee the work and the type of expenditure taking place," said Mr Hepworth.

"They simply refused. They visited once in 142 days of working on foot-and-mouth, which I found unbelievable."

Farm Assist International won a small business award four years ago, but now it is struggling to pay the sub contractors used to carry out the cleaning work during the virus outbreak.

Sub contractor Steve Holder, from Kington, on the Welsh border, said he did not know how or when he would finally be paid.

I regret doing the work dreadfully

David Hepworth, Farm Assist International

"So, we are living day by day. They (the government) pressurised you into doing the work, but when it comes to paying, they have bottled out. It is a difficult situation."

Sean Rickard, of the Cranfield School of Management, said with the passage of time, it was now very difficult to establish the truth of the matter.

"This can be traced to inefficiencies in the chain," he said.

Mr Hepworth added: "I regret (doing the work) dreadfully. The only thing I can say is that without our help and that of the contractors, this area would have been completely devastated by foot-and-mouth.

Burning carcasses were a feature of the outbreak

"What concerns me now is the longer these debts are left outstanding, should another crisis occur, who are they going to get to work for them? No-one here will."

The examination of farmer's accounts during the outbreak was brought to light when a north Wales farmer was ordered to pay back nearly �50,000 of compensation.

Defra officials admitted a mistake in the overpayment but insisted they wanted their money back.

But north Wales farmer Alun Roberts, whose 300 cattle and 600 sheep were slaughtered, argued he could not pay the cash back.

Nearly 350,000 animals in total were killed in Wales during the foot-and-mouth outbreak, and farmers were compensated at rates set by the government.