MP criticises Met Office for 'slow' Storm Bert response

An MP has accused the Met Office of incompetence in a “clear underestimation” of the impact of Storm Bert, as communities continue a huge clean-up after torrential rain and widespread flooding.

- ALEX ROSS

Hundreds of homes were left under water, roads were turned into rivers and winds of more than 80mph were recorded across parts of the UK, with at least two people reported to have died during the storm.

More than 130 flood warnings and 160 alerts remained in place across the UK yesterday. In Northamptonshire, authorities declared a major incident after around 1,000 were evacuated from their homes.

The Met Office, which says there will be further outbreaks of rain tomorrow, has insisted that Storm Bert was “well forecast”.

But yesterday, as environment secretary Steve Reed told MPs that more flooding was likely, Labour MP for Cardiff West, Alex Barros-Curtis, said warnings issued by the Met Office on Storm Bert should have been “amber or red”.

In the Commons, Mr Barros-Curtis said: “Can I ask that the secretary of state speak to his Department for Science, Innovation and Technology colleagues to carefully look into the role of the Met Office here?

“It is clear that their response was slow and that there was a clear underestimation of the impact of Storm Bert. They put it yellow rather than amber or red. Our constituents have been let down by this incompetence before, and it cannot keep happening.”