LONDON, Oct 28 — Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, who is supposed to kick start his first day working visit to Manchester today, has cancelled the visit due to the severe St Jude storm sweeping through England and Wales.
Strong gale-force winds have prompted travel warnings issued by the authorities and transport companies, advising travellers to check train and flight schedules regularly.
The St Jude storm, the worst in a decade, is expected to bring winds at almost 100mph, resulting in commuters being stranded due to disruptions to road, rail and air transport services.
Najib was scheduled to take the government aircraft from the Luton Airport to Manchester to attend the 1Malaysia for Youth (iM4U) and meet local communities residing in Manchester.
Malaysian journalists, who were covering the working visit, were on standby since 6am and were informed on the decision at 9am today.
“The prime minister has to cancel the trip to Manchester due to bad weather, which led to an advice against flying,” Najib’s Press Secretary Datuk Tengku Sarifuddin Tengku Ahmad told Malaysian journalists here today.
Despite the cancellation, Najib will still attend the reception hosted by the City of London Corporation later today at the Old Library Guidhall in Gresham Street in conjunction with the 9th World Islamic Economic Forum (WIEF) held from October 29 to 31.
Najib, who arrived in London early yesterday morning from Kuala Lumpur, is currently here for a working visit to Manchester and London from October 27 to 31. — Bernama
