Prisoners escape from British Virgin Islands jail in wake of Hurricane Irma

About 100 "very serious" prisoners have escaped
from a jail on the British Virgin Islands in the
aftermath of Hurricane Irma.
The convicts pose a "serious threat of the complete
breakdown of law and order" on the islands,
according to foreign minister Sir Alan Duncan.
Speaking to MPs in the Commons, Sir Alan said
marines from RFA Mounts Bay were used to "protect
the Governor and everything else about law and
order" after the storm hit on Friday.
He also revealed that more than 500,000 British
nationals have been in the path of the hurricane, and
nearly 1,000 British military personnel are now in the
Caribbean to help with the relief effort.
Among the troops sent to the Caribbean were
medics and engineers
The announcement came as Boris Johnson travelled
to the Caribbean to visit the British overseas
territories battered by Irma.
During a stopover in Barbados, on his way to Anguilla,
the Foreign Secretary told Sky News he was
expecting Prime Minister Theresa May to announce
"tens of millions" of pounds in more aid to the
stricken islands.
"We are making a big difference to the lives of these
people. The reason I am here is because these are
British people and we want to show our support not
just for the short term, but for the long term as well,"
he added.
He rebuffed criticism of Britain's response , saying:
"We had RFA Mounts Bay in position in the region
before the hurricane struck - it would have been
totally absurd to bring troops in or bring heavy
aircraft during the storm itself."
He added that the number of troops would go up to
1,250 in the next few days.
So far, 20 tons of UK aid has arrived in the region -
including 2,500 shelter kits and 2,300 solar lanterns.
Mr Johnson is expected to visit the British Virgin
Islands and Anguilla, two of the worst-hit territories,
where nine people were killed.
French President Emmanuel Macron is also visiting
the region, and his trip to St Martin is expected to
coincide with the arrival of a military ship carrying
supplies.
Some Britons stranded on affected islands said they
felt abandoned, while others claimed the Dutch and
French governments - which also have Caribbean
territories - were better prepared and quicker to
respond.
Another Royal Navy ship, the HMS Ocean, is set to
arrive in the Caribbean within days.
Irma was downgraded to a tropical storm on Monday,
after inflicting record flooding and deadly devastation
in Florida and on several Caribbean islands.
The weather system is continuing to weaken, and the
National Hurricane Centre says Irma will likely have
dissipated by Tuesday evening.
As a category five hurricane, the rare top end of the
scale of hurricane intensity, the storm killed nearly
40 people in the Caribbean.

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