More floods as row deepens

CHIEFS AT the Environment Agency (EA) have hit back at what they said was “ill-informed and unfair” criticism of how the quango has handled the flooding crisis.

EA board members suggested that the row was “undermining” public confidence and “belittling” the work of staff working hard to minimise the impact of extreme weather.

It came as communities along the River Thames and in Somerset were warned to expect more flooding today as river levels continue to rise, with 16 severe flood warnings along the Thames.

The EA said it acknowledged that a debate about dredging was needed and sympthised with the anger felt by flood victims, but claimed that its work was based on “firm evidence and tested science”.

“Of course it is open to anyone to take issue with expert scientific opinion,” the agency’s independent board members said in a statement.

“Just as it is wrong to criticise the work of our staff on the ground, it is equally wrong to seek to place blame for the recent flooding events on the chairman and ‘people in London’.”

The Thames Valley is expected to bear the brunt of the storms this week. Forecasters have said there is little chance of the storms easing until at least next week.

Earlier, Communities Secretary Eric Pickles told MPs there was a high risk that the Thames, the Severn and the Wye would all break their banks as water levels rise.

Efforts to deal with the flooding have been overshadowed by a bitter clash between ministers and the EA, after Mr Pickles on Sunday issued a barbed apology for relying on its advice.

Environment Secretar y Owen Paterson — who was leading the response until being forced to undergo an eye operation — is said to have complained to Downing Street over his Tory colleague’s intervention.

Picture: PA. Prime Minister David Cameron talks with the Environment Agency’s Ron Curtis, right, as he inspects work being carried out on Chesil beach, between Portland and Weymouth, in Dorset.