Doubts about the English local elections in May - and the expected general election - were growing last night as the foot-and-mouth crisis spread across the entire United Kingdom. With both Scotland and Northern Ireland now affected, the total number of confirmed cases in the UK was 31 and rising, with the number of slaughtered animals estimated at 25,000 so far.
In a further blow to government hopes of containing the disease, the chief veterinary officer, Mr Jim Scudamore, said he expected an increasing number of cases over the coming week, although they would most likely be linked to movements which took place before last Friday's ban on animal movement.
Downing Street insisted that ministers had not discussed a postponement of the May local elections and said that the Prime Minister was focusing on countering the disease.
But that was in response to speculation fuelled by the Agriculture Minister, Mr Nick Brown, who suggested that it might be impossible to hold a general election while the crisis continued. While careful to say that that decision was for Mr Blair, the Minister confirmed that he had asked MPs to stay away from all farms.
The Leader of the House of Commons, Mrs Margaret Beckett, told MPs that it was too early to consider postponing the local elections. However, with a minimum 17 working days' notice required, the impression was building at Westminster that failure to bring the disease under control quickly could frustrate Mr Blair's presumed preference for a general election on the same day.
Meanwhile, as still more of rural Britain was closed to the public, Cruft's dog show and other events were cancelled and the prospect of food shortages loomed.
With more than 1,000 employees at meat processing plants and other factories laid off or on short-time working, the leader of the GMB union, Mr John Edmonds, said some 20,000 workers in the slaughter industry and 40,000 in the bacon and ham processing sector faced an uncertain future.