Prime Minister Tony Blair is travelling to Cumbria today to offer his support to the tourist industry which has been hit hard by the foot-and-mouth crisis.
The Queen and Duke of Edinburgh are also meeting Northumberland farmers suffering the economic after-effects of the disease.
Meanwhile in Wales, up to 4,000 sheep are to be slaughtered on the Brecon Beacons after tests showed traces of the disease.
It is the first time in Wales that free-roaming animals have tested positive for the virulent disease.
A further 6,000 sheep are to be tested as part of a screening programme of upland flocks in the area.
The Government has been warned the mass cull could spell disaster for the already hard-pressed rural economy in mid Wales.
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