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Central government departments and local government swung into action to get people stranded abroad home after Iceland's volcano eruption. With more than 150,000 UK residents trapped abroad at the height of the crisis, Cobra, the Government's emergency planning committee, was activated to co-ordinate the response to the closure of European airspace by the giant ash cloud which resulted. Work was complicated by the official shutdown of departments due to election purdah, which coincided with the unprecedented events. Ahead of the reopening of airspace, the Foreign Office (FO) revealed it was ‘working closely with the travel industry and Whitehall partners to ensure that British nationals are given accurate and up-to-date advice' and was ‘co-ordinating closely with EU partners, many of which have also been affected'. The FO went on: ‘Consular staff overseas are providing assistance in a number of ways, including visiting airports, working with local authorities to resolve visa problems, and advising British nationals who have run out of funds.' A significant problem was the large number of British schools which had children abroad for educational visits during the Easter break, who were caught up in the chaos. Officials in Hertfordshire revealed they were ensuring the safety of 352 children who were stuck abroad on school trips in 11 different countries, from Iceland to Hong Kong. One head teacher in London reported he had at least 12 teachers stranded overseas. The decision to use three Royal Navy vessels to bring home people classed as vulnerable from France and Spain led to a further involvement of UK local government officials. HMS Albion arrived in Portsmouth carrying more than 280 civilians and 450 troops who had been stranded in Spain. The civilians were taken by bus to Portsmouth's transport hub, where they were met by Portsmouth City Council staff to help with their onward journeys. Council staff had, earlier in the week, taken part in a multi-agency emergency training exercise based around a terrorist attack on the city. Portsmouth City Council chief executive, David Williams, said: ‘All of the agencies are pleased to help, and it helped that we had a practice exercise earlier in the week.'

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WHITEHALL

Cobra unleashed to help return stranded Britons

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