02/03/2010
Wilson 'Showers' Criticism On Met Office
A local MP and MLA has strongly criticised weather forecasters for not only failing to 'get it right' often enough, but also for 'showering' themselves with substantial 'performance' bonuses.
Sammy Wilson said today that awarding £12.3million in bonus payments over the last five years was wrong.
He said that the figure was revealed to him through a Parliamentary question.
The East Antrim MP said that an organisation which got its predictions so badly wrong shouldn't be handing out bonuses to its staff.
"The Met Office has failed in regards to their predictions. Their short, medium and long range forecasts have been consistently inaccurate.
"On November 28th last year the Met Office declared that we were heading for a 'milder than average' winter.
"In fact it was the coldest for 30 years. Summer 2009 was going to be a 'barbecue summer' but it was a washout, as were many summers over the last few years, all of which the Met Office failed to predict.
"Of course the Met Office has itself admitted its annual global temperature predictions were wrong for nine of the past ten years; however it rewards failure by paying millions in bonuses," he fumed.
He also said that while the Met Office award themselves for their inaccuracy, it will be "the British people that will again have to pay for their mistakes and error".
"The Met Office has lost credibility with the general public, and awarding bonuses following their abysmal record will not help to endear them to the public," the DUP politician insisted today.
In fact, Northern Ireland has experienced one of the coldest winters for more than 30 years.
The mean UK temperature was 1.5C (34.7F), the lowest since 1978/79 when it was 1.2C (34.16F).
The mean is worked out by taking the average of the daytime maximum temperature and night time minimum over a 24 hour period.
(BMcC/GK)
Sammy Wilson said today that awarding £12.3million in bonus payments over the last five years was wrong.
He said that the figure was revealed to him through a Parliamentary question.
The East Antrim MP said that an organisation which got its predictions so badly wrong shouldn't be handing out bonuses to its staff.
"The Met Office has failed in regards to their predictions. Their short, medium and long range forecasts have been consistently inaccurate.
"On November 28th last year the Met Office declared that we were heading for a 'milder than average' winter.
"In fact it was the coldest for 30 years. Summer 2009 was going to be a 'barbecue summer' but it was a washout, as were many summers over the last few years, all of which the Met Office failed to predict.
"Of course the Met Office has itself admitted its annual global temperature predictions were wrong for nine of the past ten years; however it rewards failure by paying millions in bonuses," he fumed.
He also said that while the Met Office award themselves for their inaccuracy, it will be "the British people that will again have to pay for their mistakes and error".
"The Met Office has lost credibility with the general public, and awarding bonuses following their abysmal record will not help to endear them to the public," the DUP politician insisted today.
In fact, Northern Ireland has experienced one of the coldest winters for more than 30 years.
The mean UK temperature was 1.5C (34.7F), the lowest since 1978/79 when it was 1.2C (34.16F).
The mean is worked out by taking the average of the daytime maximum temperature and night time minimum over a 24 hour period.
(BMcC/GK)
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