Minister steps into weather row

Hope may be on the horizon for the weather centre

The defence minister in charge of the Met Office has condemned the way managers have handled the proposed closure of the Aberdeen bureau.

Under-Secretary of State Don Touhig said he had become frustrated with the board's "mishandling" of the plans for the centre, which employs 37.

He has intervened to put on hold the closure scheme, which had sparked fury.

Mr Touhig said the Met Office had been "in a mess" since the plans were revealed last month.

"In all honesty, I don't think this whole operation has been handled terribly well by the Met Office," he said.

"There could be far better ways of coming to the public, and particularly the staff of the Met Office, and saying we're considering a number of options for change."

I'm not taking on board any recommendation from the Met Office board until everyone who is involved has a say Don Touhig MP Defence Minister

Mr Touhig, who held talks with a cross-party group of north east MPs on Monday evening, went on: "Although I was not directly involved, the responsibility rests with me.

"That is why I put a stop to the whole operation and said there will be a consultation period.

"I'm not taking on board any recommendation from the Met Office board or anybody else until everyone who is involved, or is interested, has a say."

Malcolm Bruce, Liberal Democrat MP for Gordon, said he had been reassured by Monday's meeting.

"The minister repeated what he's been saying, he is interested in all the options, and if it takes longer than the 90 days he'll allow it.

"The minister was very receptive."

Consider options

The Met Office is controlled through the Ministry of Defence and its plans to axe the Aberdeen bureau have embarrassed the government.

The minister agreed during a Westminster adjournment debate last week to consider all possible options for the Bridge of Don office.

It was condemned by leaders of the oil and fishing industries, who said they did not trust the super-computers forecasters want to use to predict North Sea conditions from their Exeter headquarters.

The Met Office in Aberdeen employs 37 staff

But as forecasters tried to calm fears, military chiefs at a base in Belfast refused to allow their local Met Office to close completely because they wanted local forecasts.

Staff in Aberdeen are said to be furious because they only found out about the plans to shut the centre through an email.

They claim consultation so far has been done on the basis of a "done deal".

North east MPs and MSPs have stressed that the Aberdeen operation is profitable and had only recently been upgraded.

The station is one of six in Britain facing either closure or downsizing as part of a nationwide restructuring plan to move services to the Exeter headquarters.

Centre of excellence

Westminster politicians fear the possible move could compromise safety for workers in the oil and fishing industries.

Mr Bruce, who called last week's debate, received support from MPs from all parties, including SNP leader Alex Salmond and Labour's Anne Begg.

They believe the Aberdeen office can be saved under a proposal to keep it open as a centre of excellence along with offices in London and Manchester.