A leading bishop has claimed that the foot and mouth crisis is a judgement from God.

The Bishop of Liverpool, the Rt Rev James Jones, while marking the spring harvest said that Britain had brought the crisis on itself by ignoring "natural laws".

He did not directly blame farmers, saying it was economic gain driven by greed by consumers and the food industry that had caused the disaster.

"I believe the world is under economic judgement - 20 per cent of the world indulges in 80 per cent of the world's resources, while 80 per cent of the world subsists on 20 per cent of the world's resources," he said.

The bishop added: "The world is under an environmental judgement: we are polluting the air, the sea and the land. In our generation, we can see the landscape change because of the way we use and exploit the earth."

He said the worst aspect of the foot and mouth outbreak was that it would hit hardest at those who could least afford it. "The tragedy is that it is the innocent who will suffer."