Johnson is cheered and heckled as he visits town hit by floods
BORIS JOHNSON has sought to explain his decision not to visit flood-hit communities during the height of this year’s flooding.
The Prime Minister met people affected by severe weather in Worcestershire yesterday afternoon following heavy criticism over his failure to make a trip when waters were at their peak.
He said it was “too easy” for a Prime Minister to “come to a place in a middle of an emergency”, but that it was “not so easy, frankly, for the emergency services”.
Speaking on the banks of the River Severn in Bewdley, where he viewed flood defences, he told reporters: “What they have to do is then break off and gold command has to find somewhere to brief you, everybody has to gather. They’re diverting from their work for hours and hours.
“What I’ve been doing since the flooding began is coordinating the national response but also looking at what we can do in the next months and years to ensure this country really is ready to cope with the impacts of flooding.”
While many locals greeted him warmly, he also faced heckles of “traitor” as he viewed flood barriers – and one person told him to
“do your f***ing job” as he posed with teenagers for a selfie on a bridge in the town.
Bewdley has been among the worst-hit areas in England following the wettest February on record.
Mr Johnson said he would “get Bewdley done” as he spoke to residents affected by the floods. He said he was “so sorry to hear it” when he heard homes had been overwhelmed by as much as 2ft of water.
Mr Johnson was later mobbed by the public as he continued his walk – with a number of people trying to shake his hand and to take photographs as he made his way along the river.
He also met the emergency services who responded when the water levels rose. Mr Johnson joined them for a cup of tea and biscuits as he told them the defence structures in the town were “pretty amazing”.
He told reporters: “I’m here today to look at the recovery of Bewdley from the flooding. It’s badly affected a lot of residents.”
Elsewhere, he thanked the Environment Agency and emergency services, before adding he would also “look at what we can do to make sure this doesn’t happen again”.
He said: “We’re doubling the budgets we’ve set aside for investment in flood protection across the country from £2.6 billion to £5.2bn.”