PETER Mandelson last night launched an extraordinary attack on critics of an £11m deal to scrap condemned US naval ships in the North-East.

The former Labour Government minister accused a US Congresswoman who described the ships as "a disaster waiting to happen" of "talking through the top of her hat".

He also accused Hartlepool's Mayor Stuart Drummond and Labour councillors of "swallowing the propaganda" put out by critics of the plan to dismantled old ships in Able UK's Graythorp yard.

Despite the Government's claim that the plan breaches international rules and European law, Mr Mandelson said: "We should be celebrating the fact that, at long last, these ships will be properly disposed of."

The MP for Hartlepool visited Able UK yesterday to see the first two ships - the Canisteo and the Caloosahatchee - that have made the trip across the Atlantic.

Although they are now safely docked, no dismantling work can begin until a High Court hearing next month which will decide if it can go ahead.

By then, two more vessels still being towed across the Atlantic are likely to have joined them.

Another nine cannot leave the James River, in Virginia, until a US court hearing next spring.

Environmentalists, led by Friends of the Earth, claim the rusting ships are a pollution risk.

Their fears appeared to be confirmed by US Congresswoman Jo Ann Davis who fought to have them removed from the James River.

She said: "These ships are potential disaster waiting to happen. An oil spill would cripple the James, creating an environmental disaster and decimating the economy of this area. We are doing the right thing by removing (them)."

However, Mr Mandelson said: "These are thoughtless words, being taken out of context, probably mis-represented and fed by an irrational fear. She is talking through the top of her hat."

He said: "What strikes me about this situation is that what started out as a rational, factually-based assessment of a relatively straight forward contract has been derailed by the efforts of a London-based organisation working with a relatively small group of local protestors who have whipped up an irrational fear not on the basis of the facts but on false claims."

Mr Mandelson added: "Even this week the directly-elected mayor of Hartlepool wrote that dangerous and toxic waste is heading our way, painting a picture of Hartlepool as a dirty town and a dumping ground.

"This does colossal damage to the image of Hartlepool both nationally and internationally."

Mike Childs, of Friends of the Earth, said: "Rather than relying on trying to spin his way out this situation he should rely on the facts

"The US Maritime Administration has already said the fleet poses a significant risk and the UK's own waste strategy also says that waste should be dealt with as close as possible to source."

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