Met Office ‘kept winter forecast secret from public’

By Steven Swinford, UK Telegraph In October the forecaster privately warned the Government - with whom it has a contract - that Britain was likely to face an extremely cold winter.

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It kept the prediction secret, however, after facing severe criticism over the accuracy of its long-term forecasts. The Met Office eventually issued a public warning about the early onset of winter a month later, just days before snow and ice covered much of Britain and temperatures plummeted to the lowest on record. More...

Did UK Government Keep Cold Winter Warning Secret In Run-Up To UN Climate Conference?

Dr. Benny Peiser, Global Warming Policy Foundation London: The Global Warming Policy Foundation has called on the House of Commons Transport Select Committee to set up a parliamentary inquiry into the winter advice the Government received by the Met Office and the renewed failure of both the Government and local authorities to prepare the UK transport system for the third severe winter in a row. In a letter to the Chair of the Transport Committee, Louise Ellman, MP, the GWPF stresses that "Lessons have to be learned well in advance of the start of next year's winter so that we are much better prepared if it is severe again." In recent days, the Met Office has stated that it apparently warned the Cabinet Office in late October that the start of the winter would be exceptionally cold. It would appear that the extreme weather warning was kept secret from the public.

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