Carmichael responds to proposals for coastguard response times to quadruple

Responding to the news of proposals to increase the response times of Shetland’s coastguard helicopter at Sumburgh from 15 minutes to 60 minutes, Liberal Democrat MP for Orkney and Shetland, Alistair Carmichael, said: 

“This is worrying news both in the substance and in the way that it is being handled.  

“The coastguard helicopter is a highly valued and valuable resource. You cannot imagine any government minister deciding that the target response time for ambulances or the fire service in a town or a city would be quadrupled and that there would be no consultation with the communities concerned.  For island and coastal communities, this is no different.

“I am calling on the shipping minister to make an immediate statement on this and to publish the full risk assessment that ought to have been made for a change of this sort even to be considered.  A change of this sort is bound to put lives at risk.  

“How many lives are the government prepared to risk in order to make a financial saving?”