STEPS taken to make Morecambe Bay a safer place to work are less than adequate and will not stop another disaster happening tomorrow.

Despite multi-agency' talks little has changed since the disaster last February when 23 Chinese cockle pickers perished after being trapped by the rising tide near Hest Bank, says local MP Geraldine Smith.

The Gangmasters Bill looks set to come into force in April, meaning every gangmaster can only operate with a licence.

It would have covered the Chinese cockle pickers who drowned in the Bay but would not have covered other aspects of the tragedy - including matters like illegal immigration or intimidation that may have been involved, she says.

The Health and Safety Executive also issued guidelines for working safely on the Bay.

But Ms Smith says the actions taken fall far short of stopping another Morecambe Bay disaster.

She told the Citizen this week: "The Gangmasters Bill is a positive step forward, as we will know how many gangmasters and cocklers are operating in the Bay. And as this bill would not have gone through without the deaths of those people, some little good did come out of the tragedy."

"We need desperately to have a licensing scheme for the benefit of the local fishing community and have got to keep the pressure on for this - the only thing that will make a real difference in the Bay and go towards making sure no more tragedies happens.

"But s long as people can wander onto the sands without breaking the law there is a danger it will."

She has placed an Early Day Motion before Parliament - already signed by more than 100 MPs.

Before the tragedy last year, Ms Smith highlighted the dangers faced by Chinese cocklers to the Home Office but nothing was done.

Then in March the Govern-ment admitted it gave out inaccurate information about its actions before the disaster.

Former immigration mini-ster Beverley Hughes, MP for Stretford, admitted in the House of Commons: "The details I sent to Ms Smith were drawn up on the basis of the relocation of staff available at the time, and they turned out to be faulty."