SOME of the many tensions simmering amongst various teams handling the foot and mouth outbreak show signs of breaking through the surface today with a damning statement from vets working in badly hit Devon.

Many professionals are deeply worried about the "dithering" over Government policy and frustration broke in the South West when vets issued a statement saying that "mutiny is in the air."

However, their protest will not give much comfort to Dales farmers because they are demanding that the massive cull of livestock be switched from killing healthy animals close to confirmed outbreaks to sheep roaming free on the moors.

Such an action would cause great concern to upland farmers in the North, many of whose flocks graze on common land on the fells in the Pennines and Lake District.

Meanwhile the vaccinate or not to vaccinate row drags on and on, more than a month after it was first raised. The Government has launched a "charm campaign" to persuade farmers to accept a vaccination policy but some farm leaders are still highly sceptical.

NFU President Ben Gill met Government Chief Scientific Adviser Prof. David King yesterday to put a list of critical questions on the problems of vaccination (for full list, see our report yesterday).

Said Mr Gill: "We have not simply got our minds closed to this because we are being obstructive. We have asked for a number of questions to be answered and reassurances to be given before farmers take this extremely high-risk step. Currently the response that we have had from Government has created more questions."

Other developments include:

• Baroness Thatcher, the former Prime Minister, has launched a vitriolic attack on the handling of the crisis. She said that agriculture will need a lot of support to get back onto its feet when the epidemic is finally beaten but added: "The occupants of No 10 and No 11 Downing Street do not understand farming and never will."

• The RSPCA is setting up a distribution programme to get food and other aid to an estimated 1.5 million animals stranded in fields because of movement restrictions. The society has launched an appeal to the general public to raise money to pay for the programme.