A1 "a constant reminder of government failure and broken promises", says Beith

12.00.00pm UTC (GMT +0000) Tue 7th Oct 2008

Sir Alan Beith MP has strongly criticised the Government for dropping plans to dual the A1 at Adderstone, following a fatal accident on that stretch of the road.

The accident, which happened on Friday 3 October 2008, claimed the life of an Amble man and seriously injured his passenger. A Dutch lorry driver has been charged with causing death by dangerous driving.

Alan Beith said

"This accident took place on what I think is the most dangerous stretch of the A1 because it is a narrow twisting section of road with poor visibility, and that is why it was a priority for dualling, with a lot of money spent by the Highways Agency in preparing the scheme.

"It is shameful that the Government dropped that scheme.

"The single carriageway sections of the A1 between Morpeth and the Scottish border are a constant reminder of government failure and broken promises. The people of the north east deserve better."

The A1 dualling campaign has been let down by both Labour and Conservative governments. The current Labour Government has failed to include the A1 in the list of routes of national strategic importance, which means any upgrades cannot be paid for from central funding. And in March 1992, the Conservative Transport Minister Malcolm Rifkind visited Berwick and promised that the A1 would be dualled - but despite a further five years of Conservative rule, nothing was done to make our road safer.