CONCERN about Romania's poor performance on environmental issues has been expressed by Burnley MP Peter Pike.

Mr Pike is chairman of the All Party Parliamentary Committee on Romania and has had links with that country for 20 years.

Recently he was asked by a Voluntary Service Overseas member to write an introduction for an international magazine published there, InfoCIER, Central Information Education and Resource. Mr Pike said he had visited the country on many occasions since 1981 and had many friends there.

He had, however, been particularly concerned over the country's poor environmental performance. In the quarterly magazine he said that his first visit was on holiday in 1981 when he made many friends in Brasov.

Unfortunately contact became more difficult as the regime tightened its grip over the year.

He added: "I jumped at the chance to go to Romania on an All Party delegation. Whilst we wanted to go to Brasov that was not allowed as there had been riots earlier in the year following a strike at a local factory, but I did manage to dodge Securitate at one stage and send a message to our main friends."

As a member of the Environment Select Committee at the time that subject was of particular interest to him and it was evident that the Ceasescu regime was cutting all corners and environment was a low priority. He added: "The scars have become all too evident. When we went to meet the then president at his coastal residence at Nepture I was to put questions on environment and housing.

"Unfortunately he lived in a very false world and he had those in a tight circle who chose not to know what pollution was being allowed to happen and what damage was being done to so much of Romania, a price that in so many places has to be paid for so many years."

Mr Pike went on: "The Danube estuary at that time was becoming to polluted that a swim by the dictator was needed as a symbol to kill all the pollution rumours - unfortunately all the rumours were true and I am not sure whether he really did swim or not."