Carcass row: Assembly Member quits

Disposal sites are needed for thousands of carcasses

A deputy minister for education in the Welsh Assembly has resigned from the administration over the handling of the foot-and-mouth crisis.

Huw Lewis, the member for Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney, gave up his role as deputy education minister in a row over the way Agriculture Minister Carwyn Jones has dealt with the disposal of culled animals.

I have resigned because the people of Merthyr have been treated shabbily

Merthyr AM Huw Lewis

Mr Lewis said he was furious that a decision to dump animal carcasses at the Trecatti landfill site in his constituency had been taken without proper public consultation.

He told a public meeting that the way in which the decision had been taken was "disgusting", and he accused Mr Jones of mishandling the situation.

"I have not resigned because of the dumping of carcasses in Merthyr," he said.

"I have resigned because the people of Merthyr have been treated shabbily, and that is something I will not put up with."

"Disgusted" : Huw Lewis AM

It is not the first time Mr Lewis has given up a senior post . He resigned as Labour Whip over the way Alun Michael was forced to step down as leader of the assembly.

Meanwhile, the disposal of slaughtered carcasses at a giant burial site in mid-Wales has been suspended after pollution was found nearby.

The decision has disrupted plans to bury thousands of slaughtered sheep and cattle at the Ministry of Defence firing range at Epynt Mountain near Sennybridge in Powys.

An inquiry has been launched after Ministry of Agriculture scientists found pollution in a test borehole 100 metres from the site, ten days after it became operational.

But protesters opposed to the burial claim Maff had to act to prevent them securing an injunction to stop the site being used.

Crisis in Wales

Total confirmed cases UK-wide 1,323 - with 72 in Wales

Powys - 43 cases

Anglesey - 13 cases

Monmouthshire - 15 cases

Caerphilly 1

Shipments to the site have been suspended pending an inquiry into the discovery of pollution.

Carcasses have been moved by contractors to a new cell inside the burial pit to reduce the source of contamination.

As a precaution over the Bank Holiday weekend, the Environment Agency has been liaising with specialist hydrogenologists appointed by MAFF.

The Agency has also stepped up its monitoring of streams close to the pit and further downstream within the range.

Police have kept watch on protesters at Epynt

The original decision to bury infected carcasses in a foot-and-mouth free area had been opposed by up to 200 local campaigners who blockaded the site in protest.

They said the potential long-term risks of pollution did not justify the short-term need to dispose of slaughtered animals.

The blockade ended two weeks ago after a policeman was injured when a protester drove a stolen 50-tonne excavator through the demonstration.

A man has appeared in court charged with attempted murder and other offences.

'Compelled to act'

Glynn Powell, deputy president of the Farmers Union of Wales, said there was still great opposition to the burial site.

"I welcome this action but it is one that has been forced on Maff, they have been compelled to act," he said.

"Everything we predicted has come true but it has all happened far faster than even we believed."

He said Powys county councillors and protest leaders were planning to meet to consider the situation at Trecastle community centre, at 1500BST on Monday.

Mr Powell added that he believed the burial site was now being lined with an impenetrable plastic membrane, to contain any pollution.

"People here will remain opposed to the scheme until they have a cast-iron guarantee that no infected carcasses will pass through the site," he said.

"This went ahead in the face of widespread opposition. There must now be continual monitoring of the site throughout the period it is in use."