Surrey MP calls for urgent funds to stop bird flu

More than million birds were culled in one farm in the Midlands after an outbreak of bird flu

A Surrey MP is warning that the government agency meant to help the UK withstand fresh bird flu outbreaks urgently needs "massive investment".

More than a million birds have already been culled at an egg farm in the Midlands following signs of the virus in the region, where it also spread to a farmworker.

Conservative MP Dr Ben Spencer, has made the case for more cash for the government's Animal and Plant Health Agency, which is based in his Runnymede and Weybridge constituency.

On Thursday, he asked the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) Steve Reed to visit the site "to see for himself".

He said: "We rely on the facilities at the Animal and Plant Health Agency, based in New Haw.

"A few weeks ago, I asked the minister if he would visit the site with me to see for himself the work that needs to be done, and the urgent need for massive investment in the site.

"Do we have to wait until the next urgent question or statement before he will take me up on my offer?"

The UK Health Security Agency said the person who contracted avian flu in the West Midlands region had had "close and prolonged contact with a large number of infected birds".

The agency did not disclose the location of the farm or the identity of the worker.

A bird flu prevention zone enforcing strict hygiene standards around domesticated birds was declared for the whole of England on 25 January.

The move comes as 25 cases of bird flu have been registered since the recording season began in October 2024.