Coffin petition calls for inquiry (From Wilts and Gloucestershire Standard)

Coffin petition calls for inquiry

A COFFIN containing Lady Apsley's 'death of the truth' petition was ferried into Westminster on a horse-drawn hearse last week.

The petition, which was signed by more than 250,000 people, and was reproduced in the Standard in September last year as part of the Farming in Crisis Campaign, calls for a public inquiry into the foot and mouth crisis.

Around 100 countryside campaigners adopted a solemn mood as the hearse was led around Parliament Square by a lone piper.

The coffin was then carried into St Stephen's Gate by six pall bearers, including Lord Apsley, and handed to Tory MP Bill Cash and shadow agriculture minister Peter Ainsworth.

It was officially presented in the House of Commons that night.

Lady Apsley was furious that the Government had announced the night before that it was reopening the fox hunting debate, claiming the move was calculated to deflect attention from her petition.

She said: "A source close to the Government has told me that the announcement was not only designed to take the heat off Stephen Byers (the embattled transport minister) but to squash our publicity too.

"Given the arrogance of this Government, I'm not sure whether we will get an official response to the petition, but we have done our best."

The Government has so far ruled out holding an inquiry into the crisis.

The petition calls for a full investigation into its causes as well as the Government's handling of the epidemic.