Former Environment Minister Sammy Wilson has joined criticism of the Met Office as it defended its failure to predict our wet summer — saying it has “egg on its face”.
The East Antrim MP, who has been criticised for his disbelief in man-made global warming, accused the Met Office of losing credibility after initially predicting a heatwave summer which turned into a washout.
Back in April, it issued a seasonal forecast that sparked hopes for a warm and sunny season, described as a “barbecue summer”, based on its long-range forecast.
But in an update yesterday the situation was rather wetter, prompting questions over the usefulness and accuracy of long-term forecasting.
The Met Office said that “for the rest of summer, rainfall is likely to be near or above average over the UK and much of northern Europe”.