Lord Haskins, the man appointed as the rural recovery co-ordinator by Tony Blair, unveiled his report yesterday in which he called for an extra £40 million in short term aid to business.

He also criticised some "bloody-minded" local councils for their failure to open up the countryside even when the disease had not flared up again.

A separate report by the government's rural taskforce, chaired by rural affairs minister Alun Michael, also warned of the risks of "significant damage" to the rural economy yesterday.