Government would make ‘terrible mistake’ by scrapping strict protections for nature, ex-cabinet minister warns
The former environment secretary has warned it would be a “terrible mistake” for the new government to scrap protections for nature in a dash for economic growth.
George Eustice MP said “the body language” of the new administration has unsettled wildlife groups, and he urged the government to commit to green growth that creates jobs and improves the environment.
In an exclusive interview with Sky News, he said: “We will only have sustainable growth if we’re looking after our planet.
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“You are always going to need to have strict protections for species that are vulnerable or endangered. And you’re always going to need to have some strict protections for certain habitats.
“You can’t just turn a blind eye and say: These don’t matter.”
The RSPB, Wildlife Trusts, the National Trust and other environmental charities are alarmed by the government’s lack of commitment to nature in its growth plans.
They fear regulations that protect plants and animals, and set standards for air and water quality, could disappear or be watered down.
Mr Eustice said while he was in office he had developed an agricultural policy that incentivised farmers to enhance nature, including the use of herbal leys, a mixture of grass and flowering plants that are good for soil, livestock, and wildlife.
“It would be a terrible mistake to abandon that,” he said.
“The way you get growth is by having healthy soils, a healthy environment, and actually embracing some of those regenerative agricultural techniques that our policy was all about encouraging.
“If you abandon that and go back to the sort of 1970s vision of heavy use of pesticides and unsustainable cropping of land, then I think you’re in a bad position both for the resilience of farming financially but also for nature.”
The UK is one of the most nature-depleted countries in the world. According to the RSPB, 41% of plant and animal species are in decline and 15% are at risk of extinction.
Mr Eustice added that some environmental regulations based on EU directives were “clunky” and didn’t do a proper job in protecting nature.
But they should be simplified, not scrapped.
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He said: “I hope we’re not going to see a reversion to people talking about newts and bats being the problem, because they’re not.
“It is not about nature being the barrier to growth. It’s some of the processes that were set up that were more cumbersome than they needed to be.”
The government said it was committed to reversing the decline in nature by 2030.
Comedy writer Bill Dare, – who worked on shows including Spitting Image and Dead Ringers – has died after an accident overseas, his agent said.
Described as a “super producer” by his peers, Dare, 64, worked on eight series of hugely popular satire puppet show Spitting Image.
Airing on ITV during the 1980s and 1990s, the show delighted in lampooning public figures including politicians, celebrities and royalty, winning BAFTAs and Emmys. It was rebooted in 2020.
Dare also created Dead Ringers, a comedy impressions show broadcast on BBC Radio 4.
He also produced The Now Show, a satirical take on the news which ran on Radio 4 from 1998 to 2024.
Dare worked on a wide range of comedy shows during his career, including the radio production of The Mary Whitehouse Experience in the late 1980s and early 1990s. He had also written several novels.
In a statement released on Monday, his agent JFL Agency confirmed he died at the weekend.
A spokesperson said: “We are shocked and greatly saddened to have to announce the death of our brilliant client Bill Dare, who died at the weekend following an accident overseas.
“Our thoughts are with his wife Lucy, daughter Rebecca, and with all of Bill’s family and friends who will be devastated by his loss.
“Bill was a truly legendary producer and writer, and his comedy instincts were second to none.”
Oasis depicted on Spitting Image in 1996. Pic: ITV/Shutterstock
Colleagues were quick to pay tribute and reflect on his talent.
Impressionist Jon Culshaw wrote on X: “It’s impossible to express the unreal sense of loss at the passing of the incredible Bill Dare. The wisest comedy alchemist and the dearest, dearest friend. Much love to Lucy and all Bill’s family and friends. We shall all miss him more than we can say.”
David Baddiel posted on the social media platform: “Just heard that the original producer of The Mary Whitehouse Experience on radio, Bill Dare, has died. Bill was an amazing creative force. I owe him much. RIP.”
Former EastEnders actress Tracy-Ann Oberman said she was “devastated” and that her “entire comedy career was down to Bill”.
She wrote: “When I was on the BBC Radio 4 rep company early on in career – I ran into Bill in the corridors – He asked if I was good at accents. I said yes.
“He cast me in a sketch show. I had to do about 15 different accents. We recorded in front of a live audience at Broadcasting House – afterwards Bill said ‘Why have I never met you – you’re going to have a big career’.
“He was incredibly loyal and supportive and really opened a path for me into the R4 comedy world and then TV having come out of the RSC and theatre it was all new. I will always be grateful. Fly high Bill.”
Comedian and writer Mark Steel wrote: “This is so grim. Bill was a compassionate hearty soul with the ability to be beautifully grumpy, a marvellously thoughtful comic mind.
“He’d argue but always listen and you’d always laugh, he made a million shows and wanted them all to matter and would have made a million more.”
Have I Got News for You writer Pete Sinclair said: “I am utterly devastated by Bill’s death. I still can’t believe it. He was a comedy genius. A hugely talented writer as well as a brilliant producer. A close friend and co-writer. I cannot begin to say how much I’ll miss him.”
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Julia McKenzie, comedy commissioner for Radio 4, said: “I am so terribly sorry to hear this tragic news and my thoughts are with Bill’s wife, family and friends.
“Bill has been a huge part of Radio 4 comedy for decades, as a writer and producer, and listeners will have heard his legendary name at the end of many of their favourite shows.
“Bill was a comedy obsessive, and very instinctive about making the funniest choices when it came to writing, directing and editing.
“He cared so much about his work that in the production booth during Dead Ringers you’d see him crouched over the script, utterly focused on the show.
“He was funny and very dry in person, amusingly cynical when he needed to be and always pushed to keep the comedy he made, and particularly satire, spiky.
“I’ve known and worked with him for 18 years and like many I can’t believe he has gone, he will leave a big hole in the comedy world and in our hearts.”
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