The export of beef from Northern Ireland has been suspended after a computer fault led to the export of cattle which were not eligible to be sent abroad.
The North's Department of Agriculture introduced the ban last night after a failure in the cattle tracing system was discovered earlier this month. The move, described as a "temporary halt", was taken after a visit to Belfast by European inspectors for three days last week. Beef exports from the North were lifted last year ahead of the rest of the UK.