IT is no secret there is no love lost between some farmers and officials from the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

Farmers were less than happy with the way the foot-and-mouth crisis was handled in Worcestershire and Herefordshire. DEFRA had a job to do in difficult circumstances namely the slaughter of hundreds of animals.

But are things really as bad as Paul Keetch suggested in a Commons debate?

The Hereford MP claimed farmers were ''happier to have the Army than DEFRA officials on their land.''

He was referring to a report which found that, in the view of farmers, the Army's handling of the crisis was preferable to that of DEFRA.

But Mr Keetch's dry delivery gave a different impression - that farmers would rather have tanks crushing their barns than see a man from the former MAFF standing menacingly at their gates.