THE FIRST case of foot and mouth was officially reported six months ago today and it still not under control: two new cases were confirmed on Saturday, one at Lythe, near Whitby, and another in Cumbria, bringing the national total so far to 1960.

The Whitby outbreak is of considerable concern because DEFRA officials today lifted the ban on the movement of tens of thousands of pigs in the Vale of York which have been trapped for many weeks but have still be breeding prolifically.

And yesterday, another nail was hammered into the coffin of farm subsidies. Agriculture Minister Lord Whitty said is a major speech that the amount of taxpayers' money being pumped into farming was already reaching crisis point even before the foot and mouth crisis.

He predicted that such subsidies would be phased out within ten years when Europe's Common Agricultural Policy has been reformed.

He did, however, add a note of optimism for environmentalists and countryside lovers: more money, he said, would be provided for country stewardship and others schemes designed to make rural life more sustainable.