Tony Blair apologises to Britain's hurricane survivors Times of London, 5 Sept 2005
Tony Blair today apologised to British survivors of Hurricane Katrina who have criticised the Foreign and Commonwealth Office for what they described as a disorganised response to the disaster.
"It’s been really tough for people, I know that, but it’s been tough for our officials on the ground," said Mr Blair soon after he arrived in Beijing for trade talks.
"I’m really sorry if there has been difficulties about this but I can assure you some of these staff have been working round the clock and because it’s been a very difficult and confused situation it’s been difficult for them, the staff, as well as the people for whom this has been a catastrophe," he said.
As the first stranded Britons returned home last night, some said they felt let down by the absence of British officials in the disaster zone. Adam Friend, 21, of Exeter, said that he was met by friends rather than embassy officials when he arrived in Dallas after a 15-hour bus journey out of the disaster zone.
"I have never known a more useless bunch of people in my life. The press managed to gain access to the Superdome but they couldn’t," he said.
Neil Coppey, 35, from Horsham said: "I’ve tried calling Washington but they keep saying we have to contact the consulate in New Orleans, which everyone must realise doesn’t exist anymore."
Britons who had been trapped inside the New Orleans Superdome said that British consular officials, who met them in Dallas, were ill-informed and told survivors they would have to pay for their own accommodation.
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