Evening Telegraph (First Edition)
Boris Johnson visiting British territories
FOREIGN Secretary Boris Johnson is to fly to the Caribbean to visit the British territories devastated by Hurricane Irma.
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office said Mr Johnson will spend “the coming days” there to see the UK’s relief effort first-hand.
It is understood he will visit the British Virgin Islands and Anguilla.
More than 700 troops and 50 police officers have already been sent to the British Virgin Islands after they were battered by the most powerful storm ever recorded in the Atlantic Ocean.
Recovery and aid efforts are under way to help those trying to piece together their lives from the ruins.
Mr Johnson will meet governors and other officials leading the recovery work, and will visit some of the most hard-hit places.
He defended the Government’s response to Hurricane Irma, amid claims the UK had done less to evacuate its citizens than other nations.
The foreign secretary said there had been an “unprecedented” effort to deal with the aftermath saying: “I am confident we are doing everything we possibly can.”
The announcement of his visit comes after it was revealed six deaths in Florida have been blamed on Irma, along with three in Georgia and one in South Carolina. At least 35 people were killed in the Caribbean.
Irma was downgraded to a tropical storm yesterday, after it had wreaked havoc along Florida’s west coast, leaving an estimated 13 million people — two-thirds of the state’s population — without power.
In the British Virgin Islands, expats and tourists have spoken of their shock at the extent of the damage.
British DJ Laura Elliott, who lives on the island of Tortola, told how her fiance and two young children were left surrounded by a “collapsed jungle” and awaiting rescue.
Ms Elliott, 38, who was working abroad when the hurricane hit, had feared her family would run out of supplies but has since said fiance Andrew, 10-month-old son Oscar, and 23-month-old daughter Isla are due to be evacuated to Puerto Rico today.