The Scottish Government has been accused of "bolting the stable door after the horse has bolted" as it convened a summit on the disease threatening to devastate the UK's ash trees.

Labour said ministers have been "caught asleep on the job" on the issue of Chalara ash dieback. "The Scottish Government learned of the disease in Scotland in July, yet there was no statement and no action co-ordinated by the SNP until the news broke across the UK," the party's environment spokeswoman Claire Baker said.

However, Environment Minister Paul Wheelhouse said it was Labour ministers who cut the budget for research into plant health five years ago.

As of last night, the fungal disease has been confirmed at 14 sites around Scotland.

Two of these sites, near Eyemouth in the Borders and Kinghorn in Fife, involve mature trees in their natural environment, rather than new plants.

Mr Wheelhouse yesterday hosted a summit looking at ways of controlling the plant pest and stopping it from spreading.

The organisations represented at the meeting included Confor, Woodland Trust Scotland, the National Farmers' Union Scotland, RSPB Scotland, the Ramblers Association and Scottish Land and Estates.

However, Ms Baker said Scotland was "on the back foot" when it came to tackling the disease. She said: "The con-ference organised by the SNP is very much the case of bolting the stable door after the horse has bolted. The meeting is merely a fig-leaf to cover the embarrassment of the SNP, whose ministers have been caught asleep on the job.

"The Rural Affairs Committee needs to examine what the Scottish Government has done since they established that the disease was present in Scotland and now. We need to understand why Scotland is still on the back foot when it comes to tackling this disease."

Mr Wheelhouse responded: "I would highlight it was the Labour government in 2007 that cut the plant health research budget and it's been cut further by the Coalition Government.

"The Scottish Government has increased the budget for addressing plant health issues from £50,000 to £600,000."

At the meeting, experts agreed to identify mature ash trees that are resistant to the disease and could be used to develop new strains to restock Scottish woodlands.

Woodland management and forestry techniques that could help slow down the spread of the disease and lessen its impact will also be investigated.

Carol Evans, director of the Woodland Trust Scotland, said: "It's good that the Scottish Government is taking Chalara ash dieback seriously, and we're supportive of the measures."