Wildlife charities urge Labour to scrap ‘licence to kill nature’ in planning bill
Leading wildlife charities are calling on Labour to scrap a significant section of the planning bill that they say is a “licence to kill nature”, as new data reveals bats and newts are not the main reason planning is delayed in England,The RSPB and the Wildlife Trusts, whose membership is more than 2 million, said Labour had broken its promises on nature,They called for part three of the bill, which allows developers to avoid environmental laws at a site by paying into a national nature recovery fund to pay for environmental improvements elsewhere, to be ditched,Beccy Speight, CEO of the RSPB, said: “It’s now clear that the bill in its current form will rip the heart out of environmental protections and risks sending nature further into freefall,“The fate of our most important places for nature and the laws that protect them are all in the firing line.
The wild spaces, ancient woodlands, babbling brooks and the beautiful melody of the dawn chorus – it’s these natural wonders that delight people all over the country and support our physical and mental health that are under threat.That cannot be allowed to stand.”The charities released new research that suggested bats and newts were not the reason for delays in planning in 2024.The chancellor, Rachel Reeves; the prime minister, Keir Starmer; and the housing secretary, Angela Rayner; have repeatedly framed nature as a blocker to growth, blaming bats and newts for delays to infrastructure and housing projects.The data from analysis of 17,433 planning appeals in England in 2024 found that newts were relevant in just 140 (0.
8%) planning appeals and bats in 432 (2.48%).Craig Bennett, chief executive of The Wildlife Trusts, said: “Before the general election, Labour promised to restore nature.Under a year later, the chancellor is leading an ideological charge against the natural world despite it being the very foundation of the economy, society and people’s health.Promises have been broken, and millions of people have been betrayed.
”The leading British wildlife charities spoke out as more than 60 conservationists, including presenter Chris Packham, business leaders and legal experts signed a joint statement calling for the planning and infrastructure bill to be paused and for a meaningful consultation over part three of the draft legislation.Anger from environmental groups, ecologists and some economists has grown after Labour MPs and housing minister Matthew Pennycook rejected every amendment to strengthen protections for nature in the bill, which were put forward by MPs on the committee examining the draft legislation.These include a call for better protections for rare and vulnerable chalk streams and for all so called irreplaceable habitats which cannot by their very nature be recreated anywhere else in a compensatory scheme.British ecologist Sir John Lawton, who signed the joint statement, said the government should pause the bill for proper consultation: “Legal changes of this magnitude should at least follow due process.A hurried competition for last-minute ‘rescue’ amendments to this dangerous bill helps no one, and will surely harm our environment, and our economy on which it depends,” he said.
“Normal, evidence-led, democratic due process is all we are asking for,”In a separate letter to Steve Reed, the environment secretary, the body representing ecologists said part three of the bill effectively allowed on-site habitats and species to be “wantonly destroyed to make way for development” with the vague hope that it would be restored somewhere else at some future point in time,“[This] is quite evidently a catastrophically wrong approach,” said the Chartered Institute of Ecology and Environmental Management,Bennett said the so-called nature recovery part of the bill was a misnomer because in reality it was a licence to destroy nature,He said: “The Wildlife Trusts and others have offered constructive solutions that would allow the bill to proceed and achieve its aim to accelerate development whilst maintaining strong environmental protections.
We’re appalled that these have all been spurned.Nature is in crisis and must not suffer further damage.Much loved places like the New Forest could now be at risk – that’s why we’re now saying the misleadingly named ‘nature recovery’ section must be removed.”A government spokesperson said: “We completely reject these claims.The government has inherited a failing system that has delayed new homes and infrastructure while doing nothing for nature’s recovery, and we are determined to fix this through our plan for change.
That’s why our planning and infrastructure bill will deliver a win-win for the economy and nature by unblocking building and economic growth, and delivering meaningful environmental improvements,”
Sónar festival hit with artist boycott over alleged links to Israel
Sónar, one of Europe’s leading electronic music festivals, is under threat after dozens of musicians and DJs announced a boycott over the event’s parent company KKR’s alleged links to Israel.More than 70 artists signed an open letter to the festival, which is due to take place in Barcelona from 12-14 June, stating that “we oppose any affiliation between the cultural sector and entities complicit in war crimes”.The boycott from artists such as Kode9, Lolo & Sosaku, Juliana Huxtable and Sunny Graves comes amid claims that KKR is linked to housing developments in the illegally occupied West Bank, in addition to other business interests in Israel. This claim is based on the fact that KKR is a major investor in the German media company Axel Springer, which runs ads for developments in the occupied territories on Israel’s Yad2 classified ad site, owned by Springer.In June 2024, KKR, a US investment company with an estimated $710bn (£526bn) in assets, paid €1
Jimmy Kimmel on Republicans’ mega-bill: ‘Takes from the poor and gives to the rich, brazenly’
Late-night hosts dug into Donald Trump’s “big, beautiful” mega-bill and the US homeland security secretary, Kristi Noem, not knowing the meaning of habeas corpus.Republicans are “hard at work in Washington right now”, said Jimmy Kimmel on Wednesday evening, “working late, struggling to pass Trump’s big, beautiful budget bill”.“He’s even having a hard time getting the Republicans onboard with this one,” Kimmel noted, as according to the congressional budget office, the bill would add trillions of dollars to the national debt. “But Trump has a plan for that too,” said Kimmel. “He’s going to fire all the people who keep track of the national debt
Stephen Colbert on Trump’s ‘big, beautiful bill’: ‘Like the husky guy at a male strip club’
Late-night hosts talked congressional Republicans squabbling over Donald Trump’s “big, beautiful” mega-bill and Trump’s two-hour phone call with Vladimir Putin.On Tuesday, Stephen Colbert took a break from Donald Trump to focus on “all the terrible stuff they’re doing in Congress”. This week, congressional Republicans are fighting over “his heartless tax cut boondoggle”, which Trump has been calling his “big, beautiful bill”.“It really sounds less like legislation and more like the husky guy at a male strip club – ‘OK, ladies, coming up on the main stage is Big, Beautiful Bill,’” the Late Show host joked.The bill’s tax cuts for the wealthy would add roughly $3
‘I’m still standing’: Kevin Spacey makes his comeback at chaotic Cannes gala
Kevin Spacey’s Cannes comeback is a discreet, low-key affair. The promenade is home to a gaggle of evening sunbathers while the steps to the beach club contain neither fans nor protesters. It is what is known in the trade as a soft relaunch.Spacey is guest of honour at the Better World Fund’s gala dinner, where he is receiving a lifetime achievement award for “excellence in film and television”. It marks a return to the limelight for the two-time Oscar-winner, whose career stalled after allegations of sexual assault and misconduct by more than 30 men
Jon Stewart on CNN’s Biden book: ‘Selling you a book about news they should have told you’
Late-night hosts rip CNN for promoting a book on Joe Biden’s health and weigh in on Donald Trump attacking Taylor Swift and Bruce Springsteen.On the Daily Show, Jon Stewart tore into CNN anchor Jake Tapper for promoting his book Original Sin, written with Alex Thompson, on his network. The host played several clips of Tapper teasing the book, which reports on Biden’s mental decline while still in the White House. In the final clip, Tapper says: “You will not believe what we found out.”“Don’t news people have to tell you what they know when they find it out?” Stewart wondered on Monday evening
Arena: if you liked Rocky, you’ll love Rocky with monsters
There are two questions you need to ask before deciding to watch the 1989 sci-fi action film Arena. One: did you enjoy Rocky? And two: what if Rocky fought a giant space armadillo? Because Arena is for those of us who saw Sylvester Stallone’s tale of a pugilist underdog and liked it well enough – but felt it needed more monsters.Two people who definitely thought this were the director, Peter Manoogian, and the B-movie impresario Charles Band, whose Empire International Pictures made a raft of other terrific horror and sci-fi throughout the 80s including Re-Animator, From Beyond and the underrated Trancers.Like all good sports movies, Arena’s story is one of a protagonist up against the odds. In this case: Steve Armstrong (Paul Satterfield), a diner chef aboard an intergalactic space station with a knack for fisticuffs and strong sense of social justice
M&S contractor ‘investigating whether it was gateway for cyber-attack’
Sunny spring drives biggest jump in retail sales in Great Britain in four years
UK private sector shrinking as firms cut jobs; pressure to raise taxes as government borrowing jumps – as it happened
UK petrol prices poised to fall further as oil prices tumble
Ministers said to be considering bill to wipe out British Steel’s debts
Government considers sale of Brexit border checkpoint in Kent – reports