Tony Blair today called a halt to the clean-up programme on farms hit by the foot-and-mouth epidemic.

The cost of disinfecting British farms is running at £2 million a day - 10 times higher than on the Continent.

Mr Blair has now ditched the programme amid fears the total clean-up bill could escalate to £800m.

A leaked Government memo claimed the average cost of disinfecting a farm in England and Wales was £104,000.

It states: "The Prime Minister has indicated that six figure sums per farm are far from acceptable."

The Department of Environment, Farming and Rural Affairs said it wanted to ensure contractors were working in a cost-effective way.

But the decision has been attacked by the Conservatives as a "death sentence" for beleaguered farmers.

The move comes amid fears the foot-and-mouth epidemic, which affected nearly 9,000 farms and led to the slaughter of 3.6m animals, could erupt again.

The RSPCA claims the disease could re-ignite because the Government acted too slowly at its outbreak.

There are fears that mid-Wales could be hit by a major outbreak after 13,000 sheep in the Brecon Beacons were herded in for tests.

Meanwhile, the Prince of Wales today urged business leaders to help rural communities hit by the foot-and-mouth crisis.

Prince Charles said he wanted businesses to become more economically involved in their local communities.

Read more about foot-and-mouth here.

10.25 Monday, July 23