MP says West Sussex taxpayers should not pay for Baltic Klipper clean-up
Calls for polluters to cover costs after West Sussex beaches affected
Residents in Bognor Regis and Littlehampton have been reassured they should not be left bearing the financial burden after sixteen containers from the ship washed ashore along the West Sussex coastline.
Speaking at Prime Minister's Questions on Wednesday, Alison Griffiths, MP for the area, urged clarity on liability and pushed for the ship’s polluters to cover all costs incurred by the ongoing clean-up efforts.
Alison praised the community’s response since the containers went overboard, saying volunteers and local groups had shown “the very best of Bognor Regis and Littlehampton.”
Commitment from the Prime Minister
During the session, Alison asked whether the Prime Minister would facilitate a meeting with the Minister responsible to discuss the concerns of her constituents. Responding, the Prime Minister agreed to support such a meeting and emphasised that liability rests with the polluter.
He stated his expectation that all costs should be recovered by local authorities from the ship’s owners, those who chartered it, and their insurers, ensuring local taxpayers are not left with any residual financial impact.
Pushing for answers
Commenting afterwards, Alison said the community wants to see all debris cleared promptly and assurance that taxpayers will not foot the bill.
She added she had written to local authorities and government agencies to find a constructive solution and raised Written Parliamentary Questions to explore how incidents like this can be prevented in the future.
Debris from the incident has affected beaches and marine wildlife along the coastline. Alison emphasised the need for lessons to be learned and vowed to pursue a meeting with urgency.