Flood victims furious as Environment Agency boss refuses to apologise

An angry businessman whose village has been affected by flooding in England that has devastated the Somerset Levels said he was “bloody mad” that Lord Smith had refused to apologise to him personally.

Jim Winkworth, a farmer and landlord of the King Alfred pub in the tiny village of Burrow Bridge, said Lord Smith had failed to provide answers to his questions.

Speaking to the media after his meeting with the Environment Agency boss, Mr Winkworth was clearly angry and emotional.

Asked how he felt by Lord Smith’s refusal to apologise, he said: “Bloody mad. We thought that’s the least he could do today and he’s not apologising or admitting any liability.

“He hasn’t come down here to apologise, which is what he should be here for.

“If you apologise it means you’re admitting you got it wrong, I made a mistake, I’m sorry, I messed up but he’s not fit to do that.”

Lord Smith, who is due to step down as chairman of the Environment Agency this summer, said he would not resign when questioned by reporters at the Willows and Wetland Centre in Stoke St Gregory, which is close to several villages that have been devastated by the floods.

“What he’s going to do instead is hang up his shoes, finish and leave in four months’ time,” said Mr Winkworth, who is a member of the Flooding on the Levels Action Group (Flag), which is fighting to get the rivers on the Levels dredged.

“Whoever gets his job needs to be someone who is prepared to listen to people on the ground and actually kick some arse, get some work done and actually do some dredging and maintain structures and maintain what they were given,” he said.

“If everything is how it was when it was handed over to them 20 years ago by the National Rivers Authority we wouldn’t all be here today and we’d be doing something else.”

Mr Winkworth accused Lord Smith of “letting everyone down”.

“Chris Smith is the person in charge and he’s the person we have to speak to,” he said.

“He is the man in charge with the answers and he should be giving us the answers and sadly he is the man who is giving us the answers that we do not think are correct.

“He may think he is correct but he is not. He is letting himself down, he is letting his organisation down and he is letting us down.”

Mr Winkworth said that Lord Smith had explained to him why the dredging that was promised a year ago had not happened.

“He said the reason the action we were promised 12 months didn’t happen was because they set aside £400,000 for dredging, which wasn’t enough,” he said.

“So they side lined the £400,000 and they were waiting for other agencies to give them more money to get started.

“So my question was ’why didn’t they use the £400,000 to make a start?’

“He said it wouldn’t work and there was no point starting a job and not finishing it, which I quite honestly think that’s what they did 20 years ago when they took over from the National Rivers Authority.”

Asked about the choice of the wetlands centre for today’s meeting, Mr Winkworth replied: “You can’t even see a flood from here, it’s lovely.”

Company director Liz Parris, 42, who evacuated from her home in Moorland with her husband and two dogs yesterday morning, was waiting outside the meeting with Lord Smith.

Mrs Parris, who currently has a foot of water in her home, said: “From a personal level, people are very angry.

“Lord Smith is here now and I am not going to undermine talks with him. Let’s see what he has to say, let’s give him a chance.

“People are angry, people are very cross with him. I have to say the EA guys on the ground have been absolutely fantastic.

“The issues have been, in some cases, with higher up the organisation.

“The people who have farmed this area, lived in this area, managed this area for many, many years were calling before Christmas to turn on the pumps and drain water off the land.

“That was ignored. I hope Lord Smith is listening to what we have to say and something good will come of this visit.”