800 butchers to save our pigs in blankets

MINISTERS last night granted 00 visas for foreign butchers to tackle the pig crisis.

In a screeching U-turn, the Government gave in to industry demands to use migrant labour to help mitigate a mass cull of the animals.

Ministers also agreed to fund the cold storage of thousands of pig carcasses to stop them being destroyed.

It follows warnings from the pig industry that more than 100,000 animals may have to be destroyed in the coming weeks due to a shortage of butchers to prepare their meat for sale. It would mean Christmas favourites such as pigs in blankets, left, could be under threat. Boris Johnson had previously ruled out relaxing immigration rules to deal with the crisis. A Government source warned that immigration was ‘not a longterm solution’ and the visa relaxation would not be repeated next year.