Government criticised over River Tyne plastic spill response

Andy Burnham has pledged to be the prime minister for the North. But volunteers cleaning up a major plastic spill on the north-east of England coast say his government’s treatment of the “disaster”, which they say lacks urgency, does not support that claim.

“This should be declared a national emergency,” says campaigner Olly Armstrong who believes, if the spill had happened further south, it would have been treated differently.

Armstrong, from North Shields in North Tyneside, is one of thousands of volunteers who have spent weeks clearing beaches of millions of plastic pellets that washed into the River Tyne and the North Sea following a collision between two ships at the Port of Tyne.

“We’re in an emergency situation,” he says, adding he is surviving on a few hours sleep a night while orchestrating the response.

“The North often feels it’s ignored and I know now is the time to prove the North matters,” he says. “Andy Burnham has declared he is the prime minister of the North as well as London. Now is the time to prove it.”

The government has been approached for comment on whether Burnham might get involved but meanwhile has said the Environment Agency has been “on this from the start, supporting partners, and is now stepping up its work on the ground”.

The environment secretary had also spoken to North East Mayor Kim McGuinness “to discuss the response and next steps”, a spokesperson said.