Screenshot of RSPB X (previously Twitter) posting accusing ministers of lying over protecting water quality protections when they were reduced by UK government.
Beccy Speight says frustration at ‘weaker protections’ prompted criticism of Sunak, Gove and Coffey
The head of the RSPB has apologised after the wildlife charity called Rishi Sunak and other ministers “liars” in a social media post.
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“The reason that we issued our apology is that we do believe that the nature of public discourse does matter and that we have a role to play in that, and that we campaign on policy, not on people.
“So, the framing of that tweet, where we called out individual people, we felt was incorrect and inappropriate, and we apologise for that.”
“The Tories are now going for outright gaslighting on water quality”
Image of a burst water main.
Michael Gove has faced fierce criticism for attempting to defend his party’s reputation on water pollution by claiming Britain’s water quality has got cleaner, while stating standards had got higher.
It comes as the Levelling Up Secretary scrapped EU-era water pollution restrictions for new homes, which will see taxpayers picking up the bill for pollution caused by housebuilders.
In an attempt to justify the latest Tory assault on environmental regulation, Gove insisted on Times Radio that rivers are ‘cleaner than they have been in the past’.
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Commentators accused Gove of lying and suggested the reason EU countries were spending less money on improving water supplies was because they do not need the vast scale of improvements required in the UK due to decades of water company mismanagement.
Singer and clean water campaigner Feargal Sharkey offered Gove some assistance in getting the facts straight.
“Let me help with that,” Sharkey replied. “Not a single river in England passes the chemical test, not one, they all fail, every single one.
“The ecology test? In 2009 25% of rivers were in ‘Good’ condition, 2016 fell to 14%, govt’s prediction by 2027 that will have fallen to 6%. Shame on you.”
Furthermore, recent analysis has suggested that illegal levels of toxic pollutant, like ammonia, released into rivers by water companies goes undetected due to a flawed ‘self-monitoring’ system by the Environment Agency.
ENVIRONMENT campaigners have told Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to “stop playing politics” over London’s anti-pollution Ulez regulations.
Instead he should work with the capital’s Mayor Sadiq Khan and provide government funding for working people to replace polluting vehicles, Greenpeace said.
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Greenpeace UK clean air campaigner Paul Morozzo said: “Rishi Sunak has a legal obligation to cut harmful pollution levels across the UK.
“So instead of playing politics with such a vital issue, he should work with the London mayor to provide proper financial support for working people wanting to get rid of older, more polluting vehicles.”
Green groups enraged by ministers’ plans to ditch nutrient neutrality requirements for housebuilders have warned that it could lead some rivers to ‘total ecological collapse’
Feargal Sharkey, the pop star turned river campaigner, and Craig Bennett, head of the Wildlife Trusts, are among those who have blasted the Government over its plans.
Mr Bennett said: “They lied – this is a disgraceful move which undermines public trust in this Government.”
Meanwhile, the RSPB warned that removing the rules could lead to “total ecological collapse” for some rivers.
Ministers spent much of this year promising not to weaken environmental regulations in its efforts to scrap European regulations. Yet on Tuesday morning, it announced that nutrient neutrality laws would be ditched to unblock housing developments.
