IT is good to see Peter Mandelson standing up for what he believes and fighting for the ghost ships, even though what he believes may prove unpopular with voters.

He is part of the lobby that is putting forward a persuasive case that it is safe to allow the company to dismantle the ships.

But Mr Mandelson must see that there are other facts that other people might also see as persuasive. Those facts are that the US Marine Administration has said the ships represent a significant risk, that Hartlepool council says Able does not have the necessary permissions, that the British Environment Agency asked the US not to send the ships, that the British Environment Minister has demanded that the ships go back, that even as we speak the British Government is negotiating to get the two ships that are still at sea turned around.

And then US Congresswoman Jo Ann Davis, who has been campaigning to have the ghost fleet removed from her constituency, says: "These ships are potential disasters waiting to happen."

Mr Mandelson petulantly dismisses Congresswoman Davis as "talking through the top of her hat".

She is an elected representative who is just as entitled as Mr Mandelson to air her views. No more, no less.

Fully informed of both sides of this far from clear-cut conundrum, members of the public can now come to their own conclusions about the safety of the ships, and Mr Mandelson should respect their opinions - even if they do differ from his own.