The MP for Middlesbrough, Andy McDonald, posed a question to the Defra Environment Minister regarding the recent conclusions of the Expert Panel on crustacean deaths in the North East of England.

Mr McDonald said: ‘ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the report by the Chief Executive of the South Tees Development Corporation, published on 16 December 2021, whether she has had recent discussions with the Crustacean Mortality Expert Panel on the land-based excavations set out in paragraph 13 of that report.’

Mark Spencer, the Defra Minister of State responded on behalf of the Secretary of State to say:  ‘The Crustacean Mortality Expert Panel (CMEP) considered land-based sources of toxins in their independent report and their conclusions reflect this consideration. The CMEP has been stood down, but the Chief Scientific Adviser, Professor Gideon Henderson, is now consulting with relevant experts who served on the CMEP about the specifics detailed in the South Tees Development Corporation report, to check these specifics do not alter the conclusions of the report.’

Further information can be read here.