1.   The DTI was one of two departments responsible for granting Shell the license to dump the platform at sea.

2.   Greenpeace says dumping the platform at sea would pollute the marine environment.

3.   Norway virtually was alone with Britain in opposing a ban on dumping oil platforms in the sea, proposed at a recent meeting of North Sea nations.

4.   Shell defended its plans to dump the platform.

5.   Some countries favor a total ban on dumping oil platforms, fearing pollution from the oil and chemicals aboard.

6.   When the decision to dump the platform was first notified in February, not one single EU state objected until Greenpeace occupied it, Gummer noted.

7.   Shell also acknowledges that dumping the platform at sea will be much less costly than towing it back to shore.