Belgian helicopter used in rescue

A row over the use of a Belgian helicopter to rescue a cyclist who fell off a cliff at Dover will leave the Secretary of State for Defence, Michael Portillo, facing Commons questions. Labour has described the incident as "demeaning" and a result of the Government's reorganisation of air-sea rescue services. As it happened, the injured cyclist was rescued by a Kent air ambulance crew of volunteers.

David Clark, Labour's defence spokesman, said: "We were only minutes away from the first British casualty on our shores being rescued by a foreign agency. This is an outrageous situation. A Department of Transport spokesman said there had been a review of search-and-rescue provision and a response was being considered.