IRMA’S FURY

Ministers pledge £32million aid after row over ‘pathetic’ response

BRITAIN pledged £32million in disaster relief yesterday after the Government’s response to Hurricane Irma was branded ‘absolutely pathetic’.

Defence Secretary Sir Michael Fallon ordered Royal Navy flagship HMS Ocean to the Caribbean with several hundred troops, marines and engineers to help the recovery effort.

It followed criticism Britain had been slow to offer help for its 88,000 citizens living in Anguilla, the British Virgin Islands, the Turks and Caicos, all British overseas territories hit by Hurricane Irma or in its path.

Dorothea Hodge, a former UK and EU representative for the government of Anguilla, was severely critical of International Development Secretary Priti Patel’s response.

‘It is absolutely disgraceful that it has taken the whole day for Priti Patel to respond to the worst hurricane we have seen in a British territory since the 1920s.

‘Anguillans are all British nationals, as British as the Falklands or Gibraltar.

‘In comparison to the French president who has set up an emergency fund, an emergency hotline and a reconstruction fund, her response after the storm has passed is absolutely pathetic,’ she told the Guardian.

Josephine Gumbs- Conner, a lawyer in Anguilla, said the French had troops on the ground in its territory in St Martin and St Barts within hours of the storm hitting, adding: ‘That was sorely lacking in our case.’ Prime Minister Theresa May announced the £32million disaster relief pledge last night and insisted the Government had ‘moved swiftly’.

She said: ‘No-one can fail to be affected by the absolutely desperate plight of people in the Caribbean who have been hit by Hurricane Irma and my thoughts and prayers are with all those affected.

‘We have taken action, we moved swiftly, there are people on the ground, [and] £32million has been released.’

Britain’s overseas territories are under UK sovereignty and jurisdiction and rely on Britain for defence and security, including protection from natural disasters.

The initial amount announced as a relief fund for hurricane victims was £12million but by yesterday evening the government had increased it to £32million.