§ Mr. ChopeTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department at what time the(a) M20 and (b) M26 were closed to traffic on 15 December; at what 326W time each was reopened to traffic on 16 December; and for what reason the roads were not reopened sooner. [145532]
§ Caroline Flint[holding answer 5 December 2003]: Sections of the M20 and M26 motorways were closed to traffic at 10.30pm on 15 December and reopened at 7am on 16 December.
The closure was necessary to enable the police to undertake a full investigation into the three deaths which unfortunately occurred as a result of an accident there.
The length of such investigations is affected, for example, by the need to ensure that small items of evidence are not overlooked, or where artificial light may not be adequate for the proper identification and interpretation of tyre marks, or other vehicles need to be prevented from destroying or obliterating evidence by passing over it.