Union hits out over coastguard cuts

The Government has been accused of "strangling" emergency cover in British waters after a report said one in 12 coastguard jobs has been axed.

The Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union said further "massive" cuts are in the pipeline, as well as privatisation of search and rescue services.

The union said Parliamentary answers from the Government showed that one in 12 coastguard posts had been axed since May 2010, while eight coastguard centres were set to be closed with the loss of another 159 jobs.

RMT general secretary Bob Crow said: "Life-or-death emergency cover in British waters is being slowly strangled by this ConDem Government's slash-and-burn approach to the most vital of public services.

"From the coastguards to search and rescue to the emergency tugs that put out the fires, every last shred of the safety net is being ripped apart.

"This isn't cutting the fat, it's smashing into the very bones of services that were being praised only last weekend in the rescue operation of the Swanland in the Irish Sea in appalling conditions. This dicing with death on the high seas must stop."