London MEP urges EU to offer immediate aid to victims of Hurricane Ivan

10.23.47am BST (GMT +0100) Tue 14th Sep 2004

Liberal Democrat MEP for London Baroness Sarah Ludford has called on the European Union to make available generous and rapid humanitarian aid to the Caribbean region devastated by Hurricane Ivan which comes hot on the heels of hurricanes Charley and Frances.

Speaking in the European Parliament in Strasbourg, Sarah Ludford said:

"It is crucial that the European Union offers urgent help to the communities in the Caribbean who have suffered terrible bereavement, injury and loss, as in Grenada, Jamaica, the Dominican Republic and the Cayman Islands. The EU must move quickly to join the international relief effort for the massive rescue and clear up operation."

Sarah Ludford, who observed that as MEP for London she had many constituents with family links to the affected communities, asked MEPs to join her in sending condolences and a message of solidarity to them.

She added:

"We must recognise, and impress on the US administration also, that the high incidence of these devastating hurricanes - 3 in a month - is surely a consequence of global warming and climate change. Unless we in the West mend our ways and stop our profligate use of energy, our poorer cousins in the developing world will increasingly suffer the appalling results of our greed."