What the papers say

Journalist Grania McFadden reviews the morning newspapers.

Britain, says The Guardian, is fast becoming a plague nation, ostracised by others as bearers of disease.

It joins many papers in carrying pictures of the "killing field" in Cumbria - the abandoned airfield at Great Orton where a massive trench has been dug to contain the carcasses of slaughtered animals.

From a distance, they could be building a motorway. But this road is going nowhere, says The Daily Mail.

The death smell, more pungent than manure, is now common around Cumbria, says The Guardian.

The Independent notes that judging by the smell, many of the animals being buried had been slaughtered some time ago.

Serious embarrassment

It joins The Guardian in calling for the abolition of the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Fisheries - which it says has become an arm of the food industry and a captive of the retailers.

The Times claims that illegally imported meat served in a Chinese restaurant in north east England is being investigated as the most likely source of the foot-and-mouth outbreak.

Several papers carry computer generated images of what Jesus might have looked like

The paper says infected waste meat from the restaurant may have ended up in swill fed to pigs on the farm in Northumberland where the outbreak is thought to have started.

The Daily Telegraph believes Tony Blair is facing serious embarrassment after Downing Street's admission that the government did not have the legal powers to enforce a mass cull of farm stock.

It says emergency legislation may be needed to overcome the objections of farmers in Cumbria to the slaughter of their seemingly healthy animals.

Both Belfast papers report on the extension of the slaughter zone around Louth.

The Irish Times says work will begin later today on a cross border sheep cull to create a sterile corridor between the farms in Armagh and Louth affected by the disease.

The paper also carries allegations by the French minister of agriculture, that a consignment of Irish sheep caused the second outbreak of the disease in France - a claim denied by officials in Dublin.

The News Letter reports that Ulster's chief veterinary officer is optimistic that Northern Ireland will today win permission from Europe to resume meat exports.

The paper's editorial notes this permission was given to the Republic immediately.

It carries a report that beef produced in the Republic may be less safe than British beef, after scientists estimated that, taking infected animals and herd sizes into account, the risk may be 220 times greater in Ireland than in Great Britain.

'Misleading consumers'

The News Letter criticises the Republic for failing to enforce stricter safety rules.

It accuses it of misleading consumers on the grounds of serving a greater national interest.

Elsewhere, The Guardian claims that eight republican terrorists who escaped from prison in Northern Ireland over the past 20 years were told to go home after giving themselves up to the authorities.

The paper says the eight men - including three convicted of murder - had benefited from what is believed to be a government amnesty aimed at cementing the faltering peace process.

The move has angered unionists, who see it as virtually an official pardon for murderers and bombers.

The Irish News welcomes plans by SDLP leader Seamus Mallon to meet with an Orange Order delegation from Portadown, in a bid to solve the Drumcree dispute.

The Star reports that the government has hired a team of designers to make food packaging easier to open

The paper says it's a firm step in the right direction, and hopes that last solutions to the parades issue will follow soon.

Several papers carry computer generated images of what Jesus might have looked like - a man with an olive complexion, dark hair and dark eyes.

The image was created by scientists for a BBC TV series, and The Guardian notes it may well be a closer likeness than traditional Christian depictions of Jesus.

Finally, The Star reports that the government has hired a team of designers to make food packaging easier to open - so fewer people injure themselves in the attempt.

The paper says tricky packaging costs tax payers around £12,000 a year, as 60,000 people are treated by the NHS for injuries sustained while trying to open milk, biscuits and tins.