From Mike Bomford, Exeter 382173, March 16, 2007

Members of the South West Regional Assembly have been informed at their meeting today (Friday 16 March) that Devon County Council is planning to conduct a public inquiry into the beaching of the MSC Napoli in Lyme Bay.

In a statement to the Regional Assembly, Devon County Council acknowledges the excellent recovery work of the salvage teams and onshore contractors, and to the fact that recovery is proceeding well.

However the Council says that the situation could so easily have been different, and had the weather and sea conditions been worse then the results could potentially have been disastrous for the internationally recognised and protected Jurassic coastline.

The Government has decided that it will not hold a public inquiry, so today - the day that the Government publishes its Marine Bill White Paper - Devon County Council has announced that it will begin a preliminary exercise to gather evidence before progressing with a public inquiry later in the year.

East Devon and Dorset County Councils are supporting the Devon County Council led public inquiry. The Local Government Association's Coastal Special Interest Group has also strongly endorsed the proposal for an inquiry led by the County Council.

"A public inquiry would not be a finger pointing or blame apportioning exercise," said the Council's Leader, Cllr Brian Greenslade. "We would hope that the process of investigation and learning would help the relevant agencies with future contingency planning, locally and nationally, to minimise the potential for similar risk."

Councillor Margaret Rogers, the County Council's Executive Member for Environment, said:

"We applaud the Secretary of State's Representative Robin Middleton's strong leadership in this incident, and the work of the salvage team and onshore contractors who are doing an excellent job with the recovery operation.

"All the main fuel tanks are empty, all the deck containers are off and work is progressing now below deck, and the daily work on our beautiful beaches is now just routine.

"But the story not so many weeks ago was very different and we, our neighbouring authorities and the LGA's Coastal Special Interest Group believe that questions need to be asked:

• Was the MSC Napoli seaworthy when it was cleared for sale after inspections in Antwerp?
• What were the decisions that took the Napoli to its current resting place, from first getting into trouble in French waters?
• What degree should the sensitivity of the coastline be a factor in determining, in an emergency situation, where a vessel is beached?
• Does our coastline and marine environment receive adequate protection through legislation?
• Are International Shipping Conventions rigorous enough and fully supported internationally?

"We would also hope to seek clarification of the status of materials washed ashore and to the roles and responsibilities of the Receiver of Wreck and authorities to prevent theft and public order issues.

"And we'd look at the role of the media and whether they helped or hindered the salvage operation as thousands of people descended upon Branscombe.

"This incident has been a test case in several respects - never before has such cargo of value washed ashore in such quantity with such a reaction from the public; and unusually the responsibility for the local authorities to manage the onshore recovery was removed by the vessel owners by their appointment of its own contractors.

Devon County Council is the lead authority on the international EROCIPS (Emergency Response to Coastal Oil, Chemical and Inert Pollution from Shipping) project which is working on better ways to control and clean up pollution, especially in sensitive wildlife and fishing areas.

The Council's Executive has called on local MPs and south west MEPs to press for better management and planning to safeguard Devon's shores from pollution.

NOTE TO NEWS EDITORS

Devon County Council organised the only public inquiry into the 2001 Foot and Mouth outbreak. The inquiry was chaired by Prof Ian Mercer CBE, supported by a committee of Devon County and District Councillors. The Inquiry was held in October 2001, sitting at County Hall, and received some 380 submissions and took evidence from a balanced range of witnesses including Government agencies, Police, local authorities, special interest groups, business organisations and members of the public as a constructive process to establish what lessons should be learned.

The inquiry's report, published in 2002, was presented to the Government and the inquiries it organised both as evidence of the effect that Foot and Mouth had on the people, environment and economy of Devon and also as recommended actions to help ensure such an event did not happen again.