Farmers have joined the chorus of criticism mounting against the Government's decision not to hold a public inquiry into the foot and mouth epidemic.

The Government has rec-eived two scathing attacks in the past two days over its handling of the ten-month crisis.

National Farmers Union president Ben Gill has branded Whitehall methods, which led to the slaughter of millions of animals, as "incompetent".

And Professor Ian Mercer, who headed the probe into the disease in Devon, has demanded an investigation into who was to blame.

He said: "There is still a great concern that culpability has not been apportioned.

"A proper legal public inquiry is the only way we can bring anyone to account."

Mr Gill said in his report Lessons to be Learned: "The Government was ill-prepared, overwhelmed and, too often, incompetent."

Farmers in the Keighley area are also demanding an inquiry in a bid to explore how to stop the disease happening again.

Eric Wellock, who has a herd of 70 dairy cattle at Old-field, near Keighley, said: "There needs to be an inquiry to look at all the facts, and to make sure mistakes are not made again in the future."

And Will Mitchell, a dairy farmer at Oakworth near Keighley, said he would prefer an independent inquiry overseen by the European Union.

The EU has launched a year-long probe, and last week set up a special committee to gather information.

It will scrutinise the financial impact, seek to find the causes of the outbreak and explore the arguments behind a vaccination policy.

Mr Mitchell said: "It doesn't surprise me the Government won't have an inquiry because so many mistakes were made from the start.

"If it was held, I think things would be swept under the carpet."

A Department for Environ-ment, Food and Rural Affairs spokesman said today officials remain convinced that there is no need for a full public inquiry.

He said: "Our position is that we have set up two expert inquiries which will hold much of their hearings in the open and public."