Solicitors group lines up foot and mouth claims

Action Groups: Class Law and Bevan Ashford at forefront

The legal battle to compensate farmers and businesses for the devastating effects of foot-and-mouth disease is beginning, with the formation of a campaign group intending to mount legal actions against the government.

And west country firm Bevan Ashford is setting up a telephone helpline for businesses.The UK Rural Business Campaign is an action group of several thousand affected businesses, aiming to sue the government.Stephen Alexander, a partner at London-based firm Class Law, which has been instructed by the group, said: 'Possible areas for claims against the government are that the road closures were illegal, that the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions was negligent in the information it gave to farmers, and that the destruction of people's livestock was in breach of the right to enjoy possessions in the Human Rights Act.'He added that the group was determined to go to court in order to have a public inquiry into the facts.The helpline set up by Bevan Ashford has dealt with a number of issues, according to Tim Howells, the firm's head of agriculture and property litigation, including the inevitable insolvency and restructuring queries, and also the possibility of launching compensation claims.'Many of our clients have suffered tremendous losses, and we are advising them to keep all their records up to date for future possible litigation,' he said.

Victoria MacCallum