Shropshire floods: Environment Secretary defends government's response in visit to county

His arrival was welcomed, but there remained a sense among those in both towns that their plight had been forgotten by those in the corridors of power in Westminster.

Boris Johnson spoke of the crisis on the River Severn on Wednesday after being questioned by the region’s MPs in Question Time, saying general funding was being increased for Britan’s flood defences.

But the Prime Ministers’s absence from any of the UK’s flood-hit regions has been noticed by those mopping up in Shropshire. And the visit of the Environment Secretary almost a fortnight after the first floods brought little comfort to those affected, who declared that even if Mr Johnson did come it would be: “It’s too little too late”.

When questioned why Mr Johnson didn’t attend, Mr Eustice said: “It’s important a government is not a one-man band. We have a cabinet government. The most important thing is that the government responds effectively.”

See also:

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• #backtobusiness: The Star is here to help you recover from floods crisis

Mr Eustice spent around 30 minutes in both Ironbridge and Shrewsbury. The minister was confronted by Steven Clarke, co-owner of The Allotment grocery shop, who stopped him as he made his way across Shrewsbury’s Greyfriars Bridge to give press interviews.

Mr Clarke said: “We were promised that we would be able to speak to him and that he would come and see some of the people that had been affected by the floods. We were quite keen to get some answers.

“He walked straight past and towards the bridge to do press interviews. I couldn’t let that happen.”

Telford & Wrekin Council leader Shaun Davies has called for more solid defences in Ironbridge, at a cost of around £50 million.

Mr Eustice made no firm commitment but but said the impact of the floods was “very alarming” and said there would be more investment. As it was warned the flood threat would continue over the weekend, he added: “There has been an amazing response from the Environment Agency, fire brigade and other services. This has been a very wet February.”

He said the reason for his delay in visiting the county was to allow for the emergency services to "deal with the immediate impacts".