Local MP, Jeremy Hunt this week expressed his concern at the announcement by John Prescott’s Whitehall department that it is to shut down the local fire control room in Reigate, replacing it with a distant regional call centre to control the whole of the South East. These cuts to local fire services have occurred without any input from local people, and mean that 999 calls could be answered in another County in the South East - by operators who have little knowledge of South West Surrey. The restructuring process will cost a massive £72 million, re-diverting resources away from frontline protection.Jeremy Hunt asserted:“Despite the rejection of regional government in November’s North East regional referendum, John Prescott is moving ahead with his expensive plans to create new regional fire quangos. This will mean the local fire control room at Reigate will be shut down.“A regional structure will put lives at risk, since 999 operators will have less knowledge of South West Surrey. The South East region contains 8,037,000 people, and covers a mammoth area of 19,069sq km. Civil resilience could also be damaged by placing all our eggs in one basket. If the regional centre is forced offline by a disaster or attack, the whole emergency response will go down across a massive geographical area.“Conservatives oppose this damaging regional agenda. We believe that fire and rescue authorities must remain close and accountable to local people. I fear that local fire stations could be next if distant regional politicians continue with their cuts. John Prescott’s regional empire building is playing politics with fire safety.”