Commission petitioned to make UK implement insurance law

The report has been drafted by Conservative MEP for the South East Roy Perry and will be presented to the European Parliament petitions committee on 7 October.

Perry is using the report to urge the European Commission (EC) to make up its mind quickly on whether it is going to take action against the British government.

The EC gave notice to the UK government last December that it was considering taking action that could result in the matter being taken to the European Court of Justice.

But ten months later the Commission has still not made a decision. As a result, Perry is calling for this to be remedied and a decision made.

Perry said the desired outcome of the process is simply to find out what actually happened and whether the UK government has complied with the relevant EU Directives.

He added that his report included a recommendation for an investigation into what had happened from 1973 until now.

Perry has been campaigning for this matter to be looked into since a complaint was made to the European parliamentary petitions committee by several Lloyd's Names.

Perry said: "I am anxious that through the mechanism of petitions to the European Parliament we can get to the bottom of what has happened."


Warning of huge tides hitting southern coasts

Serious flooding is expected in the South of England next week when tides are predicted to be at their highest in 40 years.

The Environment Agency warned on Monday that tides would be very high on 7-8 October.

Some tides are expected to be 35% higher than current levels. If there is also an onshore wind, the levels could rise another metre.

But the Environment Agency said that, if the weather is calm, the tides may not produce any problems and said it was warning homeowners just to make them aware of the possible risks.

Meanwhile the ABI announced last week that its members would continue to provide flood insurance to the vast majority of homes and small businesses in areas at risk of flooding.

The ABI unveiled its new statement of principles, setting out a basic approach for member companies providing flood insurance.

After this announcement, Churchill and Norwich Union said they would continue to cover policyholders living in flood-prone areas once the industry's deal with the government expires.