Hilary Benn, the Rural Affairs Secretary, faced furious questions from farmers today over reports that he had ruled out a cull of badgers to control the spread of tuberculosis in cattle herds.

The Cabinet minister appeared harrassed during his visit to the Royal Agricultural Show, at Stoneleigh Park in Warwickshire, as farmers demanded to know why he had left them powerless to protect their herds.

He refused to confirm the decision until he makes a statement to MPs on Monday but emphasised he had to ensure an "effective" policy for dealing with the disease. He also repeated the conclusions of an independent ten-year study of badger culling trials which concluded that culling could "not meaningfully contribute" to control of bovine TB.

An industry source who spoke to him during his visit said that the minister was "fuming" over the leak, which had dominated his visit to the flagship show.

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There was a black mood on the showground as farmers felt in no doubt that Mr Benn had ducked a difficult decision. Ben Pullen, from Gloucestershire, said that his cattle were due to be tested for bovine TB on Monday but that he would refuse to go ahead with it if Mr Benn's decision was confirmed. "If you are not prepared to play your part, I am not prepared to play mine,"he said.

Earlier the minister was met by grim-faced farming leaders, including Peter Kendall, president of the National Farmers' Union (NFU), and Meurig Raymond, his deputy, who made clear that the gloves were now off and that any hopes of the Government forging a partnership with farmers on a TB strategy were finished.

Protests by farmers are expected at Westminster next week and there may be impromptu demonstrations as Mr Benn and his team at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs make regional visits.

The NFUis also preparing to make a legal challenge on behalf of hundreds of farmers once Mr Benn's decision has been announced. Some were still hoping that a last-minute intervention from the Prime Minister might at allow a culling trial in the disease hotspot area that runs from Bideford in Devon to the north Cornwall coast.

Mr Kendall said today: "This is devastating for the farming families whose lives and businesses are being ruined by TB in cattle. It is also disastrous for UK farming, as we lost 28,000 cattle last year and 13,500 in the first four months of this year, which has the potential to reach a total of 40,000 by the end of the year.

"It is worth noting that Sir David King, the former government chief scientist, said that his was dismayed by the decision. That to me is very telling."

Despite its desire to delay announcing the decision, the Government's verdict was leaked today to the BBC. A spokeswoman for Mr Benn's Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, said: "We never comment on leaked reports. As we have said, Hillary Benn is to make an announcement shortly."

Farmers' leaders became increasingly despondent over the issue, as rumours of the Government's decision swept the agricultural show. Further rumours suggested that Lord Rooker, the Food and Farming Minister, had threatened to resign over the issue, were denied by him as "completely untrue".

Bovine TB is one of the most pressing issues facing cattle farmers, and the disease shows no sign of receding. Figures for the first four months of this year show there were 13,500 infected cattle herds in Britain, compared to 9,394 for the whole of last year.

Government trials proved a link between badgers and the spread of the disease to cattle, but scientists decided that culling could work only if it covered tracts of land of more than 300sq kilometres, and that a cull would have to last at least four years. Culling on a smaller scale merely caused badgers to move to neighbouring land, they concluded.

The best option is thought to be a cattle vaccine for TB, but one is unlikely to be ready before 2015. A vaccine for badgers will be ready by mid-2010, but this will be too costly to administer. The most likely route is an oral vaccine by 2014 which can be left in food.

The Welsh Assembly has already announced that it may authorise its own trial badger cull in a hotspot area, a move vehemently opposed by badger protection groups which are threatening legal action if a decision to cull is given the go-ahead in contravention of a government verdict.

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