UK wildlife groups condemn Liz Truss’s ‘attack on nature’

Leading conservation groups have accused the UK government of performing a U-turn on manifesto pledges on the environment, warning that “all options” for voicing opposition remained on the table.

In a joint interview with the BBC on Wednesday, Hilary McGrady, director-general of the National Trust; Beccy Speight, head of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds; and Craig Bennett, chief executive of the Wildlife Trusts; said concern was mounting among members over the government’s policy direction on the environment.

In one of her first acts as prime minister, Liz Truss last month lifted the three-year moratorium on fracking for natural gas, which environmentalists widely oppose. They also fear that Truss’s flagship low-tax “investment zones” risk damaging protected wildlife sites.

“This is the biggest attack on nature certainly in my lifetime and let alone my career,” said McGrady. “This is unprecedented — that’s why we are stepping forward with the RSPB and Wildlife Trusts.”

Speight said “all options”, including direct action and marches, were under consideration amid growing frustration among the charity’s members.

“We are ruling nothing out,” she said. “This is a really serious situation and we really need to make progress so all options are on the table. We have said that we will mobilise our membership, and we will if needed.”

In its 2019 manifesto, the Conservative party under former premier Boris Johnson promised to be a steward of the environment by introducing legislation aimed at increasing biodiversity.

It also pledged to launch a £640mn Nature for Climate fund, as well as a new Office for Environmental Protection.

But campaigners fear Truss will row back on gains made in recent years. The government last month introduced a retained EU law bill with the aim of replacing or amending EU rules on the UK’s statute books, which include a swath of environmental legislation.

Ranil Jayawardena, environment secretary, this month told the Tory party conference that his department would become an “economic growth department” and push ahead with supply-side reforms in areas such as the farming sector.

He said the government would review post-Brexit farming regulations but remained “committed” to environmental schemes.

Campaign groups including Friends of the Earth have urged members to sign petitions and write to their MPs.

Joan Edwards, director of policy and public affairs at the Wildlife Trusts, said new investment zones would “fast-track development and undermine the democratic planning process, bypassing local constituents and threatening wildlife habitats”.

The National Trust said it “always seek[s] to work with government” and called on ministers to “urgently clarify . . . plans for farming, nature and heritage”.

“Before other options are considered we need to be reassured that these things will not be sacrificed in the race for economic growth,” it added.

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs did not immediately respond to a request for comment.