AN inquiry into how foot-and-mouth returned to the UK after a 34-year gap is yet to get under way - but one man has been identified as the possible culprit.
Bobby Waugh has been blamed for starting the crisis by feeding contaminated swill to pigs on his farm at Heddon-on-the-Wall, Northumberland.
Mr Waugh, who lives in Sunderland, has received hate mail and death threats.
A Ministry of Agriculture spokeswoman said yesterday that they were still looking into the origins of the outbreak, but Mr Waugh is clearly the man in the frame at the moment.
Mr Waugh said he is being made a fall guy and holes have appeared in the case trying to make him responsible.
Mr Waugh shares a swill processing plant with another farmer, whose animals have remained disease-free.
This week, it was revealed that sheep exported to France showed signs of the disease three weeks before it was spotted in Mr Waugh's pigs.
The sheep in France were destroyed, although the ministry said it was possible they had got antibodies from sheep exported after the first infection, at Heddon.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article