PRIME Minister Tony Blair has again rejected calls for a public inquiry in to the foot and mouth crisis which devastated parts of North Yorkshire.

Conservative MP Bill Wiggin warned it was vital to have an open and transparent probe on how the outbreak started.

He said this was particularly important as outbreaks were occurring in other parts of the world - increasing the risk of a traveller bringing it back to the UK.

Mr Wiggin asked Mr Blair: "Will the Prime Minister at last recognise the need for a full public inquiry into the epidemic, particularly as foreign travel has now resumed?

"Not least between Britain and South Korea where there has this week been an outbreak of the disease."

The Prime Minister, who has come under repeated fire for not holding a full inquiry, again turned down the request.

The Government is instead holding three separate probes in to the outbreak, which opponents claim are "behind closed doors" and could lead to a cover-up.

Mr Blair told Mr Wiggin: "I do not agree. I believe the inquiries that are under way will give us the lessons we need to learn."

The Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has insisted the Government inquiries will "deal with the situation quickly and effectively".

Meanwhile, a farmers group has called on the Government to end its "stranglehold" on the livestock industry.

Tenant Farmers Association (TFA) national chairman Reg Haydon, said: "Livestock farmers have been under severe pressure since February 2001 and many farmers continue to suffer in the aftermath of foot and mouth disease and the regulations surrounding its control.

"We are now eight months from the last recorded case of foot and mouth disease and yet livestock producers are still heavily restricted in the movement and marketing of their stock."

The TFA is focusing on three particular areas of Government regulation which are the continuing 20-day standstill period following livestock movements, the onerous restrictions on the operation of livestock markets and the Government's plans to force producers to take livestock insurance to cover the value of any animals culled by the state during a disease outbreak.

"The 20-day standstill on livestock movements is proving to be extremely detrimental to the normal pattern of livestock rearing and marketing," said Mr Haydon. "It is particularly problematical for producers selling store and finished animals who have animals returned from the market and for those bringing in new stock for the following season whilst selling for this season. This restriction must be removed without further delay."

Mr Haydon added: "The plan to force producers to insure against the possibility of livestock being culled during a disease outbreak is completely inappropriate and unworkable. The insurance industry has already said that it is unable to provide such cover at anything other than an uneconomic level of premium.

"The Government must expend more effort through tighter import restrictions to control the onset of disease rather than passing the buck for its failures onto the industry."

Updated: 08:57 Thursday, May 23, 2002