One of the leaders of the fuel protestors has led a march on Downing Street to demand a public inquiry into the foot-and-mouth outbreak.

David Handley, who formed the group Farmers For Action, organised the march from Hyde Park Corner to Downing Street on Monday. Despite claims that up to 2000 farmers will take part around 600 were estimated to have joined the protest.

The protestors handed in a petition to officials calling on the prime minister to allow a full public inquiry into the foot and mouth outbreak which has now reached 1960 cases. The marchers argued that the public deserves to hear "the full story" as they have paid for the slaughter programme.

They also called for a vaccination scheme to be introduced to counter any future outbreak, an idea already raised by the Lord Haskins who is currently compiling a report on the future of agriculture for the government.

"We are calling for a full public inquiry. If it takes three years - there are a lot of questions that need answering," Handley said.