London mayor Ken Livingstone has bought supplies of anti-viral drugs to protect 100,000 essential workers in the capital from bird flu in the event of an epidemic.

The mayor has acted faster than the government, which is yet to publish national plans to cope with such a crisis.

Key workers in London such as police, fire fighters, and health and transport workers, will be the first to get protection against the potentially lethal bird flu if a pandemic spreads from south-east Asia.

The Department of Health said it would announce its plans "very shortly". Some sources have suggested that as well as treatment there could be inflatable mortuaries, quarantine and travel restrictions.