A SCIENCE laboratory that develops vaccines for the government was last night identified as the suspected source of Britain’s latest outbreak of foot and mouth disease.

Merial SAS, a private research firm, agreed to suspend production of a strain of the foot and mouth virus that it had been using to produce vaccines.

It is based just three miles from the fields where the outbreak was first detected. So far it has led to the culling of at least three herds.

The company’s production plant is next to the Institute for Animal Health, a government laboratory at Pirbright, near Guildford in Surrey.

Scientists at Merial have admitted to vets from Defra, the environment and farming ministry, that they had recently produced a batch of vaccines using the same strain as that found in the cattle — 01 BFS67, isolated in a 1967 outbreak of the disease in Britain. Government investigators have not yet established how the virus might have infected the cattle.

Exports of cattle, sheep and pigs are banned and their movement has been stopped nationwide. A 3km protection zone has been set up in which all animals are subject to vets’ inspection. There is also a 10km surveillance zone.

This weekend the British countryside ground to a virtual standstill with scores of fetes, village fairs and agricultural events cancelled or disrupted because of fears foot and mouth was spreading.

All three herds are understood to belong to Derrick Pride, 78, who runs a farm and shop in Elstead, Surrey. He was said by friends to be “devastated”. Sixty of his cattle were slaughtered.

Last night precautionary culling of dozens of animals was taking place on neighbouring farms.

Debby Reynolds, the chief veterinary officer, said vaccine production at Pirbright had been suspended but emphasised investigations were “at a very early stage” and that it was too early to say what potential there was for the outbreak to spread.

Peter Ainsworth, shadow environment secretary, demanded an independent inquiry. “If it turns out to be true that the laboratory is the source, then it’s almost as if the government has infected its own stock. Serious questions must now be asked about how this was allowed to happen,” he said.

“It would, however, be something of a relief for farmers and the countryside to discover the infection wasn’t a result of imported cattle, or something that has been brought about by the movement of livestock.”

Pride first noted symptoms on Thursday evening in animals in a field in Wanborough. He notified Defra and tests on Friday confirmed foot and mouth.

Defra initially said 60 cattle were to be culled but it only emerged yesterday that they were on three separate sites several miles apart, one in Wanborough, a second in Elstead about five miles away and a third at an unknown location. It was not clear whether the two other herds had displayed symptoms or were being killed as a precaution.

Gordon Brown, who returned from his holiday in Dorset to take control, said yesterday he had set up internal inquiries to establish the cause of the disease. One of these inquiries will involve sending a team of scientists into Pirbright to assess its bio-security measures to prevent leaks. The review will be led by Professor Brian Spratt of Imperial College London.

Merial manufactures drugs and vaccines for animals in 16 countries. The UK arm of the company employs 150 staff and its manufacturing plant at Pirbright is its worldwide base for making foot and mouth vaccines.

The company’s website says many of its products “are considered gold standards”, adding: “Merial is committed to enhancing the health, wellbeing and performance of animals. Our strengths in parasite control and disease prevention are known around the world.”

The UK arm is headed by David Biland, 45, who last night was understood to be flying back to Britain from a family holiday.

The government institute has recently suffered funding cuts, condemned by members of the Commons science and technology select committee, which said it was suffering the “loss of key staff and skills”.

The outbreak raised the spectre of the epidemic of 2001, which led to the slaughter of more than 6.5m animals.

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