BBC - Government grilled over liner deaths

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Government grilled over liner deaths

PLANET NEW LONDON - The typically sedate Subcommittee On Post-War Reconstruction has been roiled after an emergency session was called to discuss New London's fatal Friday collision involving the Liner Lady Agnes. The passenger ship was decelerating towards Kensington Shipping Platform, when it is believed to have hit a piece of debris that had strayed into the Trade Lane's path. Currently, 8 crew members are known to have been killed, with a further three emergency responders missing. A spokesperson for the Bamburgh Company - the liner's operator - has responded with a blistering criticism of the approach to debris clearance across New London. "[The collision] would have been fully preventable with further safeguards for shipping," they noted. Opposition MPs were quick to bring this objection to the government, with Evan Edwards MP - the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Post-War Reconstruction - facing jeers and boos in the chamber. Evans was quick to defend the government's record on the issue, explaining that the budget for debris clearance was limited due to the extreme cost of post-war reconstruction, with priority given to the areas of heaviest shipping where the risk to life was the greatest. This has resulted in the majority of clearance operations and proactive lane patrols being focused around the Murton Debris Field near Planet New London. The Hounslow Debris Field in contrast has been managed through "containment" rather than remediation. ALG Waste Disposal and Gateway Shipping have both previously called for additional funding to be raised to tackle the Hounslow hazard, with anonymous ALG sources privately commenting that the zone was a "disaster waiting to happen". Evans protested that the protections for the Trade Lane were "robust", pointing to Home Office data sharing agreements with Belvedere and Kensington stations for sensor monitoring which should detect impediments. He also explained that policing militia units were responsible for routinely patrolling the lane, while ALG were contracted to respond reactively to remove identified obstructions. As Evans spoke, the chamber was filled with cries of "excuses!" and "shame!". Opposition MPs called for immediate action, with Whig Shadow Reconstruction Minister Vasuda Mand demanding a trade lane toll to raise additional funds ringfenced for the debris field. This proposal has previously been rejected by the government, arguing that tolls focused around Planet Dover would damage the Bretonian economy and disproportionately target Liberty shipping from Manchester. The Greens instead noted that the excuses of funding shortfalls rang hollow in light of the "inexcusable corporate welfare provided to Planetform Inc," referring to the government-funded terraforming surveys of Planet Wight. "The government could face reality and axe this obscene waste of taxpayer funds, and immediately have the money to tackle Hounslow," Green MP Alisha Slater railed. Opposition MPs have again called for backbench Crown Royalists to support legislation forcing the government's hand on the Hounslow Issue, in attempt to repeat the recent success of the Industrial Economy Act 836. Crown Royalist whips will now be anxiously considering how much political capital Prime Minister Ambrister Jones still holds, amid internal party discontent and historically low public polling. While Parliament considers its options, the Bamburgh Company provided a stark warning: "if this inaction continues, more lives will needlessly be lost in and around New London."

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