PORT bosses and politicians in Southampton were accused of misleading the Government last night as the battle over bringing lucrative cruise rights to Liverpool threatened to turn nasty.
Liverpool Council reacted with astonishment after the south coast town accused it of making a “serious omission” in its proposals to lift the ban on launching cruises from the Pier Head.
The row blew up over Liverpool’s plans to install a new baggage and passenger handling facility if ministers remove the restriction when the current consultation closes.
City council leaders have spoken openly about the £23m proposal, which also includes a new bridge at the northern end of the port, to open in 2013 or 2014.
Yet a Southampton MP seized on the move as evidence Liverpool was hiding the “true scale” of its plans to grab a larger share of the cruise market after it was listed in a council report.
Southampton Port also attacked the plan to use “public money” for the improvements, although none would come from either Whitehall or Brussels.
Caroline Nokes, a Conservative MP, has written to shipping minister Mike Penning demanding an explanation for the “serious omission” from Liverpool’s submission to the Department for Transport (DfT).
She wrote: “The exclusion of this information in the consultation fails to reveal the true scale of the potential threat to businesses in my constituency and those throughout Hampshire”.
