The government's handling of the foot and mouth crisis came under fire yesterday from a report by the Council for the Protection of Rural England.

The decision to close large tracts of the countryside - largely due to heavy lobbying by the National Farmers Union and outdated government thinking - gave priority to food production and exports, rather than the tourism and business sectors which share a far greater proportion of the rural economy, the report says.

Meanwhile, Britain's foot and mouth hit service and tourism industry is bracing itself for the economic aftermath of the US terrorist attacks as hotels are hit by a rash of cancellations.