Mandelson Fury at Friends
by Matthew Pardo, Evening Gazette
15 November 2003 – Friends of the Earth have been blasted by Hartlepool MP Peter Mandelson for spreading 'falsehoods' about the 'ghost ships'. The Hartlepool MP made the comments after seeing for himself the first two vessels, the Canisteo and Caloosahatchee, docked at Able UK's Graythorp yard where it is hoped they will be broken up and recycled.
Mr Mandelson asked to see the ships after a House of Commons select committee asked him to appear at a hearing next week to discuss the detail surrounding the affair.
After seeing the ships, he lashed out at Friends of the Earth who have criticised almost every aspect of the deal.
"What started out as a rational assessment of a relatively straight forward contract has been derailed by the efforts of a London based organisation working with a small group of local protesters who whipped up a frenzy, not based on the facts but on complete falsehoods," he said.
"I understand the concerns of local people and I am sensitive to the anxieties of my constituents. But we can't have a situation where irrational fear has been allowed to take over.
"People thought the ships were ticking toxic time bombs.
"Now people have seen them I think they are beginning to realise that we have been led up the garden path and that far from being concerned about the environment Friends of the Earth and local protesters have been very short sighted and that far from putting Hartlepool first, they have done damage to the image of the town."
Able UK's managing director Peter Stephenson welcomed Mr Mandelson's comments.
He said: "The problem has been a number of people have made statements without getting all the true facts."
The first two 'ghost ships' docked at Graythorp this week.
The ageing, rusting ships have been brought to the UK for recycling by Able UK, which won an £11m contract from the American Government to deal with the ships.
But eco-groups are opposed.
The ships are carrying asbestos and cancer-linked PCBs and green groups say the Americans should deal with their own waste.
Initially the Government's pollution regulator the Environment Agency gave the go-ahead for the deal.
But two weeks ago the Agency said the consents the company needed to complete the deal were not all in place, so permission was withdrawn and orders were made to stop any work on any of the ships.
The ships are waiting for their fate to be decided at two court hearings next month.
FAIR USE NOTICE. This document contains copyrighted material whose use has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. The Basel Action Network is making this article available in our efforts to advance understanding of ecological sustainability and environmental justice issues. We believe that this constitutes a 'fair use' of the copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. If you wish to use this copyrighted material for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.
More News
|
