Mike Penning (Hemel Hempstead) (Con): I thank the Deputy Prime Minister for coming to the Chamber so quickly to make a statement. On behalf of my constituents in Hemel Hempstead, I also thank him for visiting us yesterday at a very difficult time for us. I apologise that I was not available in the area that he visited; I was actually with constituents on the other side of the fire.
I praise the professionalism of what is without the shadow of a doubt the best fire service in the world, which has been fighting the fire in Hemel Hempstead for about 30 hours. As a former fireman, I dreaded going to such fires and as the crews were going to the fire I know they were dreading what they might see when they arrived, especially as they knew that people were working at the site. The luckiest men alive are the maintenance workers who walked away with only cuts and bruises even though they were only a few feet away from the initial explosion. I have met the maintenance workers, and the shock has set in as to how lucky they are.
This is a national disaster and the costs of fighting the fire cannot be borne by the taxpayers and the fire authority in Hertfordshire. It is physically impossible. I welcome the extra appliances that were sent from all over the country and, in particular, the other fire authorities that have been working so closely with my crews throughout last night and today. The situation looks promising, as the fire is out in a lot of the tanks, but the costs will be unbearable for the local community. Not only are there firefighting costs but, as the House will be aware, the industrial estate, which is closed to cameras today, is devastated by the blast damage, as are the local residents, and the next part of my question relates to the long-term effects on them.
When the depot was built, there was hardly any residential property around it, but over the last 40 years it has been surrounded by residential accommodation. Forty years ago, the site was probably assumed to be safe; clearly, it is not today. May we have an urgent inquiry into the siting of such depots? Such an inquiry should cover not only the facility itself but the emergency facilities around it. I am sure that the Deputy Prime Minister was informed yesterday that the acute accident and emergency centre where the injured persons were taken is due to close next April, under Government proposals. If the depot remains in the area, my constituents will be worried about the long-term effects of that closure for their community.
This is not about party politics; it is about what is right and wrong for our constituents. I am so proud of my constituency and the way that people pulled together as a community yesterday. I thank them for all the work they did and I thank the Deputy Prime Minister for going there yesterday.
The Deputy Prime Minister: I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for those remarks. I was well aware that he was actively looking after his constituents' interests during my visit. I hope that he will accept that my intention was not to commit the chief constable or the chief fire officer simply to attend me, but to ask whether they wanted any assistance, so I was in and out quickly. I hope that he understands that that was the reason why I did not contact him when he was seeing to his constituents' needs.
As a former fireman, he will appreciate more than anyone the difficulties facing those firemen at present. I have referred to them waiting to go into the inferno, and we all admire the extraordinary courage of firefighters in those circumstances. Of course, the Under-Secretary, my hon. Friend the Member for Poplar and Canning Town (Jim Fitzpatrick), is also a former fireman—so I have got them to the front of me and to the back of me. I felt that during the last dispute, but I will not go into that situation. Nevertheless, I have never doubted the courage of those people who, as workers, are willing to face danger in such a way. No other person is faced with that, and we are grateful to them for doing so on behalf of the community.
The hon. Gentleman referred to this as a national disaster. Again, the resources that we make available under the Bellwin scheme for such circumstances will be judged against the incident. Clearly, terrible and extensive damage was done to the industrial estate, and the insurers have already told those companies, as well as householders, that they are prepared to consider all those complaints. We will see what we can do in that regard.
The hon. Gentleman referred to the residential properties near to the site. Obviously, planning permission was given for them, but I will certainly look into that and see whether any lesson can be learned.
In regard to the emergency services at the hospital, that was certainly not expressed as a concern, but I readily take on board what the hon. Gentleman said. However, I give him the same offer as I gave to the hon. Member for Meriden (Mrs. Spelman): if he desires to see me in a few days when the position is a little clearer, we can discuss exactly his fears and whether we can do any more to assist his constituents.
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