AN URGENT independent review of biosecurity measures at an animal research laboratory close to the outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease at a farm in Surrey, was ordered by the government last night after it was discovered that a special strain of the virus which had been recently manufactured in a batch at the lab, and which is not routinely found in animals, is the same strain as those found in the infected cattle.

The Institute of Animal Health (IAH) laboratory is only a few miles from the farm at Wanborough, where 64 cattle were slaughtered and their carcas ses incinerated yesterday. The cattle were identified as potentially suffering from foot-and-mouth late on Thursday.

When the outbreak was verified on Friday by government veterinary inspectors, a nationwide ban on livestock movement and a ban on beef exports was ordered, sparking panic that Britain was on the verge of another foot-and-mouth epidemic. Identifying the specific strain of the disease to help identify the source of the outbreak and to begin vaccine manufacture was one of the priorities ordered by Defra scientists, the department responsible for rural affairs.

Late last night, the strain of the specific foot-and-mouth virus was confirmed as 01 BFS67, similar to the virus isolated in the 1967 outbreak in the UK.

The 01 strain is similar to types used in international laboratories researching the disease and is also used in the production of specialist animal vaccines.

The Pirbright site is shared by the IAH and the pharmaceutical company Merial Animal Health, which makes an internationally marketed range of animal vaccines for both livestock and pets.

In a statement from Defra, the presence of the strain at the Pirbright facility and in the Wanborough herd was confirmed as being the same. 'This strain is present at the IAH and was used in a batch manufactured in July 2007 by the Merial facility. On a precautionary basis, Merial has agreed to voluntarily halt vaccine production.' After a day of promises by the government to react quickly and decisively to limit the spread of foot-and-mouth, the government's chief veterinary officer, Dr Debby Reynolds, ordered a new exclusion zone with a 10km radius which encompasses both the infected farm at Wanborough and the research lab.

Although the linkage of the strain in the infected animals with the batch manufactured last month at Pirbright removes some of the panic and fears of the outbreak, the discovery doesn't limit the potential fears that it cou ld have spread beyond the Surrey farm.

Last night, weather experts at the Met Office were studying wind charts that could explain how the virus was carried from the lab to the farm.

The review of biosecurity measures at Pirbright will be undertaken by professor Brian Spratt of Imperial College in London.

Defra last night were trying not to sound overconfident that the crisis had passed due to the swift identification of the strain and its origins. 'Th is incident remains at an early stage. It is too soon to reach any firm conclusions. All other precautionary measures announced yesterday will remain in place.' For Britain's farmers, Defra's caution is a mixture of both good and bad news: good in the sense that a rock-solid link has been found quickly, and bad that the tough regime of livestock movement bans, and export bans, remains in force.

News of the link between the lab and the outbreak will, however, ease fears on international markets that Britain's livestock products were about to experience the trauma suffered in 2001 when millions of cattle were slaughtered and burned in an epidemic.

Crucial continental markets will have to be convinced that the outbreak can now be limited. Environmental authorities in Germany have already begun inspecting cattle imported from Britain over the past month. French authorities have carried out similar inspections.

Ireland has also banned the import of all live animals, fresh meat and non-pasteurised milk from Britain, while the United States has widened cattle and sheep bans already in place to cover all imports of pork.

With the Pirbright link not known, the prime minister Gordon Brown cancelled his holiday in Dorset, believing he had another large-scale crisis on his hands on the back of the recent floods. He promised: 'We will be doing, night and day, everything in our power to make sure that what happens, happens quickly and happens decisively in a way that can reassure people that everything is being done.' The environment secretary, Hilary B enn, also cut short his holiday in Italy to oversee his department.

The government's response, as it was with the recent terrorist attacks in London and Glasgow, looked to be inclusive and involve the main political parties.

During a 50-minute morning meeting of the government's civil emergency committee, Cobra, Scotland's first minister Alex Salmond, and the Executive's rural affairs minister Richard Lochhead took part in discussions.

Following the Cobra meeting, Brown made separate telephone calls to the Conservatives' leader David Cameron and to the Liberal Democrat leader Sir Menzies Campbell. A one-to-one telephone call was also made to Salmond, where they discussed the initial measures to combat the spread of the virus.

In a marked contrast to the way the government hesitated in the ear ly stages of the devastating 2001 outbreak, the government wasted little time yesterday in announcing a UK-wide ban on the movement of all livestock.The ban will remain in force till it is confirmed that the biosecurity failures at Pirbright have not gone beyond Wanborough.

Promising to use the lessons learned in the outbreak of 2001, Defra said it would set up a national disease centre in London, as part of contingency plans which early last night looked more like a long-term action plan than measures to deal with a limited problem.

But the swift identification of the strain and its link to the nearby research and vaccine lab, will inevitably ease fears in the agriculture sector.

Along with the biosecurity review, the Health and Safety Executive are to lead an investigation into the procedures which were followed by researchers at the IAH & Merial facility.

In a statement tonight, Merial Animal Health said: 'Following the recent outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease at a farm near Guildford, Merial can confirm that it has suspended virus production at its vaccine centre in Pirbright.

'The decision to suspend production has been taken in full consultation w ith Defra and will enable Defra to carry out a thorough investigation into all possible sources of this outbreak.'