Friday 7 March 2014

DON'T WORRY, IT'S ONLY THE JOCKS



Anger erupted at Holyrood after it emerged UK ministers had waited eight months to inform the environmental watchdog, the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (Sepa), about the incident.

In a rare show of unity, the SNP and Scottish Labour condemned what was described as a cover-up. Labour said the UK Government had treated people with contempt.

The Scottish Government was briefed about the 2012 incident at the Caithness facility yesterday only hours before Defence Secretary Philip Hammond gave a statement to MPs. It tests the same reactors carried by the UK's fleet of nuclear submarines.

SNP defence spokesman Angus Robertson said: "The MoD knew how politically damaging this would be for the UK Government. This smells of a cover-up.

"There are now serious questions to answer. We can only wonder what other nuclear secrets the UK Government is keeping from the people of Scotland."

Glasgow North West Labour MP John Robertson told Mr Hammond: "The stupidity of this Government ... holds no bounds. You are holding the people of this country in contempt."

Mr Hammond insisted the incident posed no risk and was considered a "level 0" on the safety scale, requiring no need to notify authorities.

He said the UK Government informed Sepa, which is responsible for monitoring emissions around Dounreay, about the incident on a confidential basis.

UK Government sources also insisted there was no need to inform Scottish ministers because defence is a matter reserved to Westminster.

The leak emerged yesterday as Mr Hammond announced plans to spend £270 million on the Clyde-based Trident nuclear weapons system as a precaution in the wake of the incident.

Britain's oldest nuclear submarine, HMS Vanguard, will have its reactor refuelled at a cost of £120m. Ministers will then assess the situation to see if all the UK's submarines require work.

The internal leak involved a "miniscule" amount of radiation in a test reactor at Dounreay. The radiation entered the reactor's cooling water, but did not penetrate any further.

Mr Hammond also insisted there was no indication anything had gone wrong on board any of the submarines.

He said the test reactor had been "hammered" and put under intense pressure as part of experiments designed to anticipate what future faults it could develop.

A Ministry of Defence source said the test reactor was "best thought of as around 10 years further down the line than those on the boats".

While only one submarine will be refuelled initially, the entire fleet could need work.

Mr Hammond refused to rule out the possibility the UK could be left without a nuclear deterrent continuously at sea, which would be in breach of the Government's policy

He said: "I'm afraid this is scare­mongering of the worst kind. I have told you, and all the scientific evidence supports the position I have taken, there are no safety issues at stake here."

He added: "'Level 0 events are not routinely made public, they are not routinely reported. That has been the practice of successive governments. That has been the practice across the civil and military nuclear sector."

The test reactor was shut down after the fault was detected. It was restarted in November 2012 and had continued to operate safely since, according to ministers,

It is due to be decommissioned in 2015, but this date could be brought forward if it allowed experts to discover more about the breach.

A Sepa spokesman confirmed it had not told Scottish Government ministers about the leak, despite their oversight role.

He said: "Following an increase of radioactive gases in the Vulcan reactor in 2012, the MoD requested that the issue be kept on a strict need to know basis for security reasons".

I make no comment about this except to say that I wouldn't believe Mr Hammond if he said that London was the capital of England.

40 comments:

  1. If this water is that safe. Would Mr Hammond drink it?

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    Replies
    1. Hi Jock... Welcome.

      I think we should force him to... don't you?

      Delete
  2. UK Government sources also insisted there was no need to inform Scottish ministers because defence is a matter reserved to Westminster.

    Reserved for f****** Westminster! Who are these jokers?

    THIS is how the NO camp want us to be treated is it, treated like mushrooms, kept in the dark and shovelled shite!

    We're Better Together are we?
    Better Together my f****** earse!

    Nice of that MUPPET Hammond to admit that there was NO risk and it was ONLY considered to be a level 0 on the safety scale. Now exactly WHOSE safety scale are we talking about here, HIS or the one back here in the REAL world?

    A Ministry of Defence source said the test reactor was "best thought of as around 10 years further down the line than those on the boats".

    Who on earth is this MUPPET that has done this whole "best thought" thing, please don't tell me it was the MUPPET Hammond, I wouldn't trust him to tell me that water is WET far less doing any thinking about nuclear reactors!

    I have a few suggestions for that MUPPET Hammond.

    1) Take your leaking nuclear reactors and shove them where the sun don't shine!

    2) take your leaking nuclear subs and park them outside the House of Parliament

    3) take your W.M.D.'s and stick up on the road between Downing Street and Westminster.use them as statues. Let's face it at least then they'd be doing something useful, cause they sure as hell are pretty much useless at the moment!

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    Replies
    1. Jeeez... you sound angry, ARBROATH.

      He's a vile little worm, isn't he?

      This is not the first time there has been trouble.

      I just wish the dodgy stuff would get the hell out of my country.

      Delete
    2. Think you might be right there Tris. :)

      Every time this MUPPET opens his mouth my level of anger goes up at least one level. Just don't let me get anywhere near him cause the aftermath will not be a pretty sight. :)

      Delete
  3. Arbroath 1320

    Mushrooms which glow in the dark?

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    Replies
    1. You been shopping at Tesco again?

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    2. Damn it I knew I got it wrong, of course IBSU you are correct, we are indeed treated like mushrooms that glow in the dark!

      Delete
  4. SEPA should not have agree to keep it confidental. Their wages are paid by the SG, it was happningin part of Scotland

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    Replies
    1. Sean... welcome...

      Completely agree. We have the right to know if their WMDs are leaking in our country Even if it is minimal.

      It just reinforces the idea that our government doesn't matter.

      How would they like it if something dangerous happened near Birmingham that was the remit of Europe, and Brussels didn't tell them about it?

      Delete
  5. Was it General Wolfe who sent the Black Watch to storm the cliffs in a suicidal attack at Montreal during the Anglo-French war?
    When asked it that was sensible, he remarked something along the lines of 'they are only Scots, no great mischief if they fail'. Some things never change.

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    Replies
    1. According to this site Juteman, they claim it was the Fraser Highlanders, but hey ho.

      http://www.britishbattles.com/battle-of-quebec.htm

      I think Wolfe's hatred and disdain of Scottish soldiers grew out of the time he spent fighting the Scots during the Jacobite war.

      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Wolfe

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    2. Interesting man Mr Wolfe.

      Plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose

      Delete
  6. tris said:

    'I make no comment about this except to say that I wouldn't believe Mr Hammond if he said that London was the capital of England.'

    EU regions don't have capitals, tris.

    Steve

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. OK... I wouldn't believe him is he said the sky was up and the ground was down...

      Hmmm, what I'm trying to say really is that he's a wee lying RAT.

      Delete
  7. Morer faux outrage from the usual nat suspects little bit
    of radiation never hust anyone ......much.
    They say the people living near Chernobyl are doing
    fine these day .......

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    Replies
    1. It never did you any harm did it Niko...

      I mean you're cooking a way fine with gas.

      Actually, it was as much Labour who protested: Clearly they don't have a Scot as a Defence spokesman since Murphy got the boot, but they did have Glasgow North West Labour MP John Robertson who told Mr Hammond: "The stupidity of this Government ... holds no bounds. You are holding the people of this country in contempt."

      Which he is.

      As my mum said, imagine if that had been a leak somewhere near London!

      Delete
    2. I have been there, or as close as you can get officially.

      According to my hosts, the immediate area around Chernobyl was contaminated but the big stuff went right up and then was distributed over Scandinavia and Scotland by being contained in rain. Which is why the areas which have highest rainfall in Scotland were the most contaminated.

      Delete
    3. That explains Niko then. It must rain heavily in his back garden.

      Delete
  8. Nuclear boats have PWR types which are different from Fast Breeders.

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    Replies
    1. Hmmmm

      Now you've lost me.

      Delete
    2. PWR

      Reinventing the wheel in how to find the most expensive way of boiling water known to man.

      Delete
    3. Still I expect it makes a nice cup of coffee....?

      Delete
    4. You're far too fussy... Glowing cheeks are most becoming...

      Delete
    5. It wasn't the fast breeder reactor which leaked, as it is shut down, but the PWR they use for tests.

      Delete
    6. If you say so Snotty. :) I'm a technophobe!

      Delete
  9. Sorry Tris, I'm going O/T, honestly it is NOT the way I'm sitting. LOL

    I know you have always had me down as a, as Niko would say, separatist, but after watching this video well what can I say except UKIP go go go! LOL

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bSRoQZz7zos

    I have also been alerted to this lovely piece about the prioposals being put forward by Liz Smith the Tory M.S.P for Mid Scotland and Fife.

    http://tinyurl.com/p9g7y8q

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That's a bridge to far even for a normal Tory.

      Delete
    2. He's painful. Lies all the way through. He doesn't even know the name of the party. And he referred to Scotland as "there" instead of "here" in the first few lines.

      I'm impressed with his figures though.... I thought they normally got about 4% of the vote. If it's in double figures that would be frightening.

      As for old Liz; it would probably be a good idea to fly a Tory from the Bridge. They are the ones that represent Empire and the good old days of Britian running the world, what?

      Let's start with Liz...

      Daft old bat.

      Delete
    3. PS... I see that 88% of the readership disagrees with the idea.

      Typical Tory.

      Delete
  10. "UK Government sources also insisted there was no need to inform Scottish ministers because defence is a matter reserved to Westminster." There, just there is the whole independence argument!
    What breathtaking ignorance

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    Replies
    1. HI Cadgers...

      Welcome to Munguin's Republic.

      Yes, it is, but if there is one thing that British governments ARE good at, it is arrogance. They teach it at Eton and do degrees in it at Oxford. That's probably the only reason that so many of them, who otherwise appear to be pretty dense, have got degrees.

      Delete
  11. It makes you wonder what else the bastards are keeping from us?

    Incidentally, I missed your blog on Waitrose as being busy chatting gup Mrs N in the VIP section at the bingo.. I think she's mixing me up with someone else as she keeps calling me "Darling"! However, I can exclusively reveal who shops at Waitrose. A few years ago I'd arranged to meet Niko's and Grahamski's nemisis prior to a Hibs games and he told me that he would stand out from the crowd by wearing a Waitrose bag if it was raining. Can you guess who it was?.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ah well, yeah...obviously he shops at Waitrose.

      I'm surprised there wasn't a Waitrose down in Leith, specially for him.

      I heard they were going to be building one in Forfar.

      :)

      Delete
    2. PS... I'm pleased to hear you use the VIP section at the bingo. One meets such a nice class of people there. I always ask to be directed to the first class section of the bus when I'm going downtown.

      Delete
    3. What's all this rubbish about VIP sections at the Bingo and First class sections on the bus then Tris?

      All we have down here in the wilderness is a ramshackle old hut with holes in the roof for our bingo and a horse and cart...if we're lucky. LOL

      Delete
    4. Yesssssss Arbroath, but you don't live in John's little world, where Mrs N actually fancies him. Let him dream.

      But I'm surprised that you don't have firstclass on your buses down there... I mean they vote Tory don;t they?

      Delete
  12. Tris

    Makes me sick the contemp that these people have for us, the Scottish Government and the issue aty hand. We shouldn't even have f'ing nuclear weapons and 120 million to re-fill a submarine, how many more people does IDS have to harm to cover that in benefit cuts. I hate these people I really do. I always say to people don't use the word hate but no more, I really hate them.

    Bruce

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    Replies
    1. Aye Bruce...I find it hard to believe that people would prefer to vote for nuclear missiles than food for hungry kids.

      Still, not everyone has a heart I guess.

      Delete