Dismay over foot-and-mouth summit

NFU Scotland said sheep farmers were struggling to make ends meet

Scots farmers seeking a £50m foot-and-mouth compensation package have been left disappointed after a summit in London.

Farmers have threatened protests after the UK Government refused to concede to demands for financial assistance.

Farming representatives were told that no cash was on offer to compensate them for the impact of the outbreak.

James Withers of the National Farmers Union Scotland (NFUS) said the meeting was "shocking to say the least".

The news comes as restrictions imposed during the foot-and-mouth scare are due to be lifted from midnight.

Following a row between ministers in Edinburgh and London, officials of the National Farmers Union Scotland met MPs and Environment Secretary Hilary Benn at Westminster.

Hilary Benn is telling Scots farmers who have got their animals stuck where they are, whose animals are overcrowded, and who haven't any money left that their problems aren't big enough James Withers NFUS deputy chief executive

Restrictions on the movement and sale of livestock were put in place in August following the discovery of foot-and-mouth disease in Surrey.

James Withers, NFUS deputy chief executive, said Mr Benn effectively told the delegation that the problem facing farmers north of the border was "not big enough" to merit compensation.

He said: "The meeting was shocking to say the least. Hilary Benn effectively said that the problems were not big enough to merit his action.

"He effectively washed his hands of what is happening.

Financial losses

"He is telling Scots farmers who have got their animals stuck where they are, whose animals are overcrowded, and who haven't any money left that their problems aren't big enough."

The NFUS previously said some farmers were facing huge financial losses because of the restrictions imposed after the recent outbreaks in England.

Liberal Democrat Scottish spokesman Alistair Carmichael said it was an "immensely disappointing" meeting.

He added: "The Defra position is politically and intellectually incoherent.

"Hilary Benn accepted that there was no difference in principle between what we were wanting tonight and what farmers were compensated for in 2001.

'Exceptional circumstances'

"The only difference he could point to was the size of the outbreak, but that's not a difference in principle."

The SNP's Western Isles MP Angus MacNeil, who was also present, said he would be calling for continued cross-party support to get the UK Government to change its mind on the compensation issue.

NFUS president Jim McLaren said: "We are now into the eleventh week of turmoil following the foot-and-mouth outbreak in Surrey.

"The UK Government must be accountable for the welfare and financial crisis on Scottish livestock farms.

The Scottish Government has introduced a sheep welfare scheme

"This disease came from a government-controlled facility and there is a Treasury contingency fund set aside for such exceptional circumstances."

In a statement issued after the meeting, Mr Benn said: "I fully recognise the serious problems faced by farmers in Scotland and elsewhere as a result of the outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease.

"These difficulties were cleared spelled out by Jim McLaren and his colleagues in our discussions.

"It is for each administration to cover the cost of the support that we have chosen to give to farmers to assist them with the welfare and economic problems they are facing."

He added: "As I told the House of Commons last week, none of us yet knows the full cost of dealing with this outbreak but it is, of course, open to the Scottish Executive to raise this issue with the Treasury."