Piper Alpha: The fateful words which sparked the biggest disaster in the North Sea
Updated: 06/07/2021, 5:14 pm
The Piper Alpha disaster still haunts the north and north-east to this day.
Nobody who was involved in Piper Alpha will ever forget the night the sea caught fire during the world’s worst offshore disaster.
Whether it was the families and friends of the 167 men who died or the emergency services who tended to the precious few people who were flown back to Aberdeen, or those who sailed into a vision from hell to carry out a desperate rescue mission, the tragic events which unfolded on the night of July 6 1988 are permanently ingrained in Scotland’s history.
Break the shackles even without a deal
Sir, – Unquestionably Brussels has both a disdain and a fear of Britain, a position that has been displayed throughout the so-called Brexit negotiations.
The disdain is alike to a parent who witnesses a child disobeying an order and seeks to impose punishments against their viewed misdemeanour.
The fear element is contained in the fact that if Britain is allowed unfettered sovereignty then we might steal a march in establishing trade deals with other nations to the perceived detriment of the EU bloc.
These are the principal reasons why the negotiations have been protracted and continually stymied into deadlock.