Ministers and MPs leaned on government officials investigating the death of thousands of crabs and lobsters in north-east England to deny that dredging by a ports giant was a likely cause, openDemocracy can reveal.
openDemocracy has obtained a large number of documents through multiple Environmental Information Regulation (EIR) requests that reveal politicians pressured investigators to rebut an independent report that pointed the finger at the practice.
The chair of the Whitby Fishermen's Association, James Cole, has previously accused the authorities of a ‘cover-up’ to protect the government's plans for the expansion of the politically sensitive freeport in Teesside, which will require dredging. Similarly, Labour councillor Alma Hellaoui has accused the government department of a “cover up of the real issues that face us”.
