Following an emergency meeting of the Ulster Farmers’ Union (UFU) Executive on Thursday evening, the farm lobby organisation has called for the immediate resignation of the leadership within the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA).

As well as DAERA minister Andrew Muir, the union wants the permanent secretary Katrina Godfrey and chief vet Brian Dooher to go.

That comes on the back of the decision by DAERA to cull 51 cattle on a farm outside Fivemiletown at the end of June. The fallout from that led to former Irish chief vet Dr Martin Blake being tasked on Wednesday with undertaking an independent review of the events in and around the incident.

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However, the UFU has confirmed it does not have confidence in the independence of that process. Following the announcement of Dr Blake on Wednesday, the union issued a statement suggesting a panel of experts, to include legal and farming representatives, “would provide greater balance, fairness and confidence in the process”.

Reiterating that on Friday, President John McLenaghan said the UFU will continue to press for an “independent, transparent and public review of the Fivemiletown operation”.

He added that confidence in DAERA has been severely damaged and it is just one of many instances where farmers feel the department has lost touch with those on the ground.

On the decision to call for the heads of Muir, Godfrey and Dooher, he said it was not something the “UFU has taken lightly”.