People made homeless: 4,000 have already left the island

Government Faces Aid Protest Over Volcano Hit Island

Diane Abbott claimed more lives would be lost unless urgent action was taken to deal with housing, health and safety problems.

But the Government's position was defended by the International Development Minister, George Foulkes, who said the disaster was being handled with the urgency it deserved.

Mr Foulkes was replying to an emergency question from Ms Abbott, who said the "devastating" eruption on the British dependency had resulted in eight people dead, 10 missing and presumed dead and a further eight missing.

Mr Foulkes told the Commons that, in view of the seriousness of the eruption, his department had last week established a task force of officials to decide what best could be done to help the people of the island.

As a result, urgent steps had been taken, including:

• Immediate mobilisation of four helicopters, including one with a burns treatment capability
• Creation of a new ferry service to and from Antigua
• Sending a senior Emergency Aid Department official to help coordinate Britain's contribution to alleviating the crisis
• Examination of the possibility of a helicopter shuttle service
• #6.8 million for assistance

In addition, the Foreign Office Minister, Baroness Symons, was on the island, assessing aid needs.

Baroness Symons discusses the Montserrat aid crisis on BBC Breakfast News

More and more of the island is becoming uninhabitable

The Montserrat community in Britain was very grateful for what the Government had done, but the islanders were now "in desperate straits", said Ms Abbott. She protested: "Advisers have been sent down, money has been set aside - but there has been interminable delay and decision making. "Unless action is taken urgently, particularly about the question of housing and particularly about health care and sanitation, more lives will be lost unnecessarily in this very beautiful and very loyal British dependency."

Mr Foulkes replied: "We recognise the urgent need for housing." Before the eruption, he had been discussing with Lady Symons the need for long-term housing, and the Government would immediately look at longer-term housing need once people were safe.

The Government was satisfied that a temporary hospital on the island was sufficient to deal with immediate need, "but we have already started discussions about long term hospital provision", Mr Foulkes added.

"It is only eight weeks since this Government took office. We have already had three or four ministerial meetings about Montserrat.

For the Liberal Democrats, Dr Jennifer Tonge said the habitable area of the island was getting less and less. She asked if the Government had long-term plans to try to persuade islanders to relocate elsewhere and help them to do so.

The minister replied that the Government wanted the island to remain viable. He added: "We are working with the Government of Montserrat to try to make that possible. If at the end of the day evacuation has to take place, then we will consider the position as sympathetically as possible and do everything we can to make sure that the people of Montserrat are properly dealt with."