Coastguard axe: 'Closure may come back to haunt Philip'

THE controversial closure of the Forth Coastguard is one that very sadly may come back to haunt UK Transport Secretary Philip Hammond.

The outcry over his plans to close 10 of Britain's 18 coastguard centres persuaded him to hand a reprieve yesterday to two of them - but the strong case for saving the base on the Forth fell on deaf ears.

The Firth of Forth is one of the UK's busiest waterways, thanks to the port at Leith, oil terminal at Grangemouth and naval docks at Rosyth.

It is getting busier and will only continue to do so as the offshore renewable energy industry and cruise terminal expand at Leith, while the possibility of ship-to-ship oil transfers remains a worry on the horizon.

Closing the Forth Coastguard, including its HQ at Fife Ness and station at Granton, leaves the protection of these waters heavily reliant on a computer system that's effectiveness has been questioned. Much local knowledge, built up over decades, will be lost with its staff.

The only identifiable upside is the substantial savings of 7 million a year that the government hopes to make - but even on economic grounds, closing the Forth operation is highly questionable.

This newspaper has long argued that tough decisions must be made on public spending, but they must be based on protecting front-line services and providing best value for money.

Not only is the Forth Coastguard the cheapest to run in the UK, costing less than 45,000 a year, staffing costs aside, the lifeboat stations at Queensferry, Kinghorn and Anstruther are the busiest in Scotland.

As for protecting services, can you get any more front line than saving lives at sea?

It is the earnest hope of all involved that these savings do not turn out to be made at the cost of saving lives.

Fight for justice

it is impossible not to applaud Catherine Scott's determination to win justice for her late husband William and to sympathise with the heartbreak the couple suffered.

Like hundreds of other veterans, the former soldier was dressed in shorts and told only to cover his eyes while atomic bombs were tested in front of him on Christmas Island in the 1950s. He went on to suffer years of ill-health, which sadly curtailed the final years of his life.

His fight for justice must not now be allowed to die with him. His widow deserves compensation and most importantly to see someone finally take responsibility for his suffering.