TRAVELLERS stranded abroad by the volcanic ash cloud returned to North Wales in a trickle rather than a flood yesterday as recriminations flew about the Government’s handling of the crisis.

All UK airports reopened but many services were cancelled, with budget airline Ryanair unable to operate any flights at all.

A leading holiday company chief said the Government’s response to the crisis had been “a shambles”, while Conservative leader David Cameron accused ministers of “muddle and confusion”.

Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg, whose three young sons were stranded in Spain, said there would have to be a “post-mortem” of the response to the crisis.

But as returning passengers spoke of how they “despaired” of ever getting home, Prime Minister Gordon Brown defended the time taken to reopen UK airspace, stressing that passengers had to be “safe and secure”.