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Pete Bevington
31 October, 2008
NORTHERN isles MP Alistair Carmichael has slammed the government
after it emerged that the Metropolitan Police, whose senior manager
admits having no experience of sea safety, was put in charge of
auditing the Maritime and Coastguards Agency's (MCA) contingency
plans put in place as a result of ongoing industrial action within
the MCA.
On 18 July Mr Carmichael wrote to the then transport secretary Ruth
Kelly reiterating his concerns "about the durability of the
contingency arrangements put in place to provide cover during the
strikes."
Mr Carmichael asked Ms Kelly if her department would "commission an
independent audit of the contingency arrangements so that their
adequacy or otherwise can be determined."
On 5 August Mr Carmichael received a letter from transport minister
Rosie Winterton confirming "the MCA has decided to subject its
planning to such an audit".
On 16 July Mr Carmichael raised his concerns over contingency cover
with the prime minister who said: "I will certainly look at the
issue of contingency cover to see what is being provided in the
event of this dispute." |
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Mr Carmichael has now written to the
prime minister to ask him if he feels it is suitable for a business
manager within the Metropolitan Police with no nautical experience
to audit contingency cover for the whole of the UK's seas.
Commenting, Mr Carmichael said: "The prime minister and various
transport ministers gave assurances to me that there had been a
'rigorous risk assessment', which was 'designed to maintain safety
of life at sea and protect seafarers'.
"We now discover that the assessment of the contingency plans runs
to roughly one side of A4 and was carried out by a man who describes
himself as being someone whose previous nautical experience amounts
to little more than the occasional trip on the Woolwich ferry.
"For government ministers and coastguard senior management to
present this as information which should assure the general public
beggars belief. The people who know most about this are the
professional coastguards themselves, their view was that the
contingency plans put in place by the MCA were inadequate. Nothing
that I have seen from the government contradicts that and the fact
that the Metropolitan Police have been charged with overseeing plans
for safety at sea is frankly ludicrous."
The contingency plans do not affect the northern isles, which are
covered by Shetland Coastguard who have refused to participate in
the national strike because they do not believe the area can be
adequately covered without a risk to life and limb if they downed
tools. |
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