Ash dieback may never be eradicated, says Government scientist Scientists were now pinning their hopes on research into a small number of trees in Denmark which developed resistance to it. "In the long term we would hope to be able to identify that resistance characteristic in some of the ash trees and increasingly propagate and spread the resistance through the population," said Mr Ward. He added that it was not spreading "at the moment" after the movement of plants was halted, and the "sporulation" which can lead to the airborne spread of the disease did not happen until summertime. The increasing number of cases being seen was a result of increasing awareness of the spread of the fungus. Results of a study would give a "more or less complete picture" by the end of tomorrow, he added. He said a number of "highly suspect" sites in Kent were expected to be confirmed as having ash dieback today. The Government was accused by a trade association which represents tree nurseries of ignoring common sense in its early response to warnings about disease when it was warned about it in 2009. Samples identified in the UK were the same as a different pathogen which had been widespread in the country for years. But Tim Briercliffe, director of business development at the Horticultural Trades Association (HTA), said his members warned about what they had seen in Europe, yet nothing was done. He told Today: "We saw the disease, we saw what it was doing in Denmark. It wasn't doing that in the UK. Whatever the details of the science were saying, that surely was going to speak far louder. There is a potential it could have come and blown in. That would be stretching what is currently known about the disease but what we do know is the spread of it across the country is simply the result of plants and trees being imported because that is how it is so widely spread. We believe it has spread so widely now that it may well be so established that it is difficult to do anything. He criticised the Government for refusing to compensate businesses for their losses. In the past we haven't had a situation where we have recognised a disease and warned the Government about it and they have not acted, and that's why I think this case is specifically different. Meanwhile a plant nursery forced to destroy 50,000 ash trees is to sue the Government for failing to block imports sooner. Simon Ellis, managing director of Crowders Nurseries in Horncastle, Lincolnshire, said: "They should have taken it seriously at the time. They chose not to and now we have this really dramatic situation and unfortunately, by the sound of it, the ash tree disease has spread throughout the UK. The number of confirmed cases of ash dieback disease is expected to increase as the results come through from a mass survey of trees that has been carried out over the weekend. The fungal disease is threatening to wipe out the majority of Britain's ash trees. It has already killed up to 90% of ash trees in some areas of Denmark. Plant health experts have been undertaking an urgent survey of 1,000 sites which have had saplings from nurseries where the disease has been found to be present. Environment Secretary Owen Paterson convened a Cobra crisis committee on Friday to examine the latest developments and co-ordinate action to halt the spread of the disease, which causes leaf loss and crown dieback. Experts are also expected to gather for a summit in London on Wednesday. The Government banned imports of ash trees last Monday after a programme that has seen 100,000 specimens destroyed since the disease was discovered in March. But the discovery of the disease in mature trees in East Anglia has raised fears it has blown in to the UK as well as arriving on imports and will be hard to control. Professor Michael Shaw, a plant disease expert from the University of Reading, said the impact could be "catastrophic," warning it could wipe out 19 out of every 20 ash trees. A spokesman for Defra said: "Hundreds of staff members from government agencies have been investigating sites across the UK for signs of the tree disease Chalara ash dieback this weekend. They have examined around 2,500 blocks of land, each 10 kilometres square, where mature ash trees are known to be present, in order to seek out traces of the disease in our established trees. At a time when our trees face increasing threat from a range of diseases, and in a tight financial climate, we believe that resources are best spent on surveillance and trying to tackle the disease. Mary Creagh, the shadow environment secretary, said: "Why is it all hands to the deck now, why not in February when it was discovered? It feels like too little, too late.