The Shaking

Chapter Thirty Four

"OK, I'm ready." she said. "I'm speaking with Deputy Prime Minister Stuart Pullman in the aftermath of the worst ever disaster to strike the UK. Deputy Prime Minister; what message does the government have for those so badly affected by the earthquake?"

Pullman slipped into an obviously well-prepared reply. "Our message is that we share your pain, and are doing everything within our power to help you. Given the scale of the catastrophe we face and the disruption to services it has caused, in some places we're not yet been able to do everything we've wanted to; but be assured the government is busy coordinating an effective response to this unexpected shock."

"But it wasn't unexpected, was it?" Gail retorted. "You were warned about it in advance. Why didn't you take any action?"

"If you're referring to the hyperbolic paper which Dr Brian McLean sent to the government just a few days ago, then I don't consider that to have been a valid warning-"

"He was right though."

"No he wasn't!" Pullman was beginning to show the first signs of irritation. "The report was his own individual flight of fancy which was neither peer reviewed or endorsed by UKGeoScan. To be frank it read more like a Daily Post article than a credible scientific prediction."

"Yet the earthquake happened."

"Our scientific advisors tell me it was purely a coincidence; it's the expert consensus that seismic forecasting is an impossibility at the present time, and likely to be the case well into the future, just as is the case with long-range weather predictions."

"But the short-term weather forecasts are generally accurate." grilled Burton. "If you'd only listened to Dr McLean you might have had enough time to prepare an emergency response."

"But the fact is the government wasn't warned. We received Dr McLean's paper - as we do numerous prophecies from all manner of sources all of the time claiming an imminent disaster is about to occur - only a few days ago. Now despite the outlandish claims contained within it the document was treated with the seriousness it deserved given Dr McLean's connection with UKGeoScan; even if its author has a reputation as an eccentric. It was passed all the way up to my desk for consideration-"

"You read it and took no action?"

Pullman choked down his obvious annoyance with Burton's line of questioning. "I read the paper, but was unconvinced by his arguments. In fact given the many flaws in his reasoning I'd have been perfectly justified in throwing it in the waste bin, but I didn't: Instead I placed it in a holding file to be sent on for further consideration just in case there was something within it worth taking note of, but sadly events overtook the process and now we find ourselves where we are."

"So you admit Dr McLean was right after all?"

"No; the receipt of the McLean report and the unprecedented earthquake were purely an unfortunate happenstance. Dr McLean did not predict yesterday's event, and nor will he explain why he failed to do so to you or anyone else. Instead of presenting his case to the scientific community he acted in a totally irresponsible manner by manufacturing a deliberately alarmist story to sell to a sensationalist tabloid. And having done so he then took an unauthorised leave of absence from his job at a time when he was most needed. Our information is that he is currently pedaling his crackpot ideas to the unlawful Scottish secessionist government and is being paid a handsome retainer from the public purse while he does so!"

Gail changed tack. "On the subject of Scotland, where does the Scottish government's rejection of the State of Emergency leave relations between Westminster and Holyrood?

"At a time when everyone needs to be pulling together this cynically flagrant attempt to take advantage of the situation amounts to a slap in the face for the victims and survivors of the disaster. At least the Scottish administration has had the decency to provide aid and coordinate emergency assistance with the lawfully superior government of these isles, but that in no way excuses their treachery."