David Ford said: “This further bad news from Surrey, even if it is not confirmed, illustrates the vital importance of every farmer in Ireland, as well as the Departments, North and South, maintaining their utmost vigilance if we are to protect our export trade.
“Whilst this is clearly extremely bad news for farmers in Great Britain, I believe that the lessons have been learnt over the last six weeks to ensure that Northern Ireland farmers need not suffer from this further threat.”
ENDS