Portsmouth MPs Amanda Martin and Stephen Morgan met with Defence Minister Luke Pollard in the Ministry of Defence to discuss their objections to the Aquind interconnector project.
In August, the city MPs welcomed a Ministry of Defence (MOD) intervention calling for the Aquind project to be blocked on national security grounds.
In a submission to ministers, the MOD said the Aquind project would “clearly and unacceptably impede and compromise” operations in and around Portsmouth Naval Base.
In the meeting with Minister Pollard, the Portsmouth MPs discussed their local campaign against Aquind, working with local campaigners to oppose the project.
Commenting, Portsmouth South MP Stephen Morgan said:
“I have long raised national security concerns as part of the representations I’ve been making on behalf of constituents regarding the proposed Aquind interconnector project.
“I was pleased to meet with the Defence Minister to discuss the concerns of Portsmouth people, and I will continue to make the case, alongside local campaigners, for this project to be refused.”
Commenting, Portsmouth North MP Amanda Martin said:
“I oppose the Aquind project due to the environmental damage, murky financing, and severe disruption it would cause for my constituents.
“However, all of this pales in comparison to the national security risk the project poses, as identified by the MOD. I welcome the opportunity to meet the Minister for the Armed Forces to discuss these issues and represent my constituents’ concerns.
“I will continue to stand with my community in our dedicated fight against Aquind.”
As local MPs, Stephen and Amanda have been active representatives of the STOP AQUIND campaign, tabling questions in Parliament and contacting Government departments on this issue. In the last Parliament, Stephen was dedicated in his scrutiny of the Conservative government on this and launched a petition with over 6,000 signatures.
