A FARMER who went to the High Court in a bid to force a public foot and mouth inquiry today spoke of his disappointment after the case was lost.

Judges threw out the move by 13 farmers and rural businessmen, who were protesting at the Government's decision to hold three private hearings into the disease which crippled the rural economy.

Thomas Binns, who lost more than 3,000 sheep and lambs and 60 cattle when Hecklin Farm, near Clitheroe, was hit by the outbreak, was one of the farmers fighting to make the information public.

The 39-year-old said he was bitterly disappointed at the ruling, which banned any appeal and awarded legal costs against them. The Government's legal bill alone is believed to be around £160,000.

Mr Binns said national newspapers - which wanted to report on any inquiry - helped foot the bill.

He said: "It is a sad day for open government and democracy when a decision goes against public opinion. Even before it got to the judicial review stage, there was strong backing from the public. More than 500,000 people signed a petition requesting a public inquiry."

Mr Binns, Lancashire vice-president of the National Farmers Union, said he hoped a Government public inquiry would have led to vital questions being answered about exactly how the crisis started. He said he wanted somebody to be held accountable.

But the Attorney-General, Lord Goldsmith QC, who addressed the court in London last month, successfully argued that a full public inquiry would be backward looking, slow, massively expensive and "a jamboree for lawyers".