The British government today denied reports that the British Army was suspected as the source of the country's devastating foot-and-mouth epidemic among farm animals, as the number of infected farms topped 1,500.
"I don't think there is any thing in that at all," British Agriculture Minister Mr Nick Brown told BBC television, speaking of a report that slops from an army training camp had been fed to pigs at the north England farm where the outbreak began in February.
Mr Brown said it was true that the armed forces bought large amounts of frozen meat on the world market, but "I do not think the army procurement arrangements are the cause of this disease outbreak."
He said work was under way on "whether something has made our country more vulnerable to viral infections" but said that he could not elaborate on the project yet for legal reasons.
A British Ministry of Defence spokesman also denied the report in the Sunday Telegraphthat army meat imports had been linked to foot-and-mouth, which has lead to the slaughter of over two million farm animals and greatly damaged the tourist industry.
The ministry said army meat imports were from disease-free regions of the world.
But the opposition Conservatives said the allegations should be investigated to determine whether the army and not a Chinese restaurant, as had been widely reported weeks ago, was the source of the illness.
Meanwhile, British health authorities have cleared eight people who were suspected of having human cases of the disease, which is very rare. Five more results are pending.
There are also concerns about disposal of the dead animals and protesters at one site in Northumberland in England turned away nine truckloads of animal carcasses today.