Former Prime Minister Gordon Brown has called on the Ministry of Defence to deal with radioactive particles at Dalgety Bay in a special debate in the House of Commons.

In an adjournment debate on Wednesday 30th November, Mr Brown, Labour MP for Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath, told MPs that materials found on the beach in the last six weeks contained up to ten times more radiation than anything previously discovered at Dalgety Bay.

The radioactivity is thought to come from dials of World War II aircraft which were scrapped there.

Addressing the Commons Mr Brown warned that the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (Sepa) would designate the bay as radioactive land unless "urgent action" was taken by the Ministry of Defence (MoD).

He called for assurances from the ministry that it would agreed to develop and fund the necessary action to clear the site, to "allay the fears of local people", repeating the call of Dalgety Bay Community Council.

He added that Dalgety Bay was a "loyal and patriotic community whose patience had been sorely tested.

Mr Brown continued: "We face the prospect that a small part of land, thanks to the inactivity of the Ministry of Defence, largely occupied by a sailing club, will carry the title of the only officially registered area of radio contaminated land in the UK."

Dunfermline MP Thomas Docherty also joined the debate, calling for urgent action from the MoD.

Responding for the government Defence Minister Andrew Robathan agreed there was a "serious issue" at the beach.

But he did not "entirely recognise" the portrayal of situation given by Mr Brown.

He said the MoD had agreed to work with Sepa over the next four weeks to inform the scope of "any long-term credible remediation and management measures".

Intervening, Mr Brown sought assurances that action would be taken and funded by the MoD, adding: "We should ask for nothing less and I think he is in a position to give that assurance."

You can read more on this story - and watch the debate in full here on the BBC Democracy website.

What do you think of the debate – and will it have the desired result for Dalgety Bay? Post your comments and have your say here on s1dalgetybay