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| Miliband backs bird flu response | |
| (10 minutes later) | |
| The government is determined to "stamp out" the Suffolk bird flu outbreak and regain the UK's "disease free" status, the environment secretary says. | |
| David Miliband told MPs the response to the outbreak of the H5N1 strain at the Bernard Matthews site had been "rapid, well co-ordinated and appropriate". | David Miliband told MPs the response to the outbreak of the H5N1 strain at the Bernard Matthews site had been "rapid, well co-ordinated and appropriate". |
| He said the cull of the site's 159,000 turkeys would be completed in hours. | |
| Strict controls are in place around the site near Lowestoft, but officials say the risk to humans is "negligible". | Strict controls are in place around the site near Lowestoft, but officials say the risk to humans is "negligible". |
| Giving a Commons statement earlier, Mr Miliband confirmed the cause of the outbreak remained unknown, but he said he was satisfied with the government's reaction. | |
| This is a blow to the poultry industry but it's vital that it doesn't become a crisis Peter Ainsworth | |
| He told MPs that experience from other outbreaks had shown where the disease had been found in domestic poultry, rapid action to restrict movements, and cull the birds had "eradicated the disease without further spread". | |
| He also said Food Standards Agency had said there was no risk to people eating properly cooked poultry, including turkey and eggs. | |
| Mr Miliband added: "Our goals in this case are clear. To stamp out the disease, protect public health, to protect animal health and welfare, and to regain disease-free status for the UK." | |
| Shadow environment secretary Peter Ainsworth said the government needed to stress to the public that eating poultry was "entirely safe". | |
| "This is a blow to the poultry industry but it's vital that it doesn't become a crisis," he said. |