Chris Packham ‘not drinking any more Heineken’ after thousands of apple trees felled
A leading wildlife broadcaster has said he will not be drinking “any more” Heineken after the company felled thousands of trees in one of its orchards.
Chris Packham said the decision to cut the trees on land in Monmouthshire near the border between England and Wales was a “tragic waste of a fabulous resource”.
The BBC reported thousands of apple trees had been cut on 300 acres of land at Penrhos Farm.
The company, which owns Bulmer’s, says it plans to sell the land due to a lack of demand for cider and a surplus of apples.
But Chris Packham, best known for presenting series such as Springwatch, told Sky News that the decision to fell the trees was “immoral”.
“In a biodiversity crisis, I would say it’s bordering on unethical and certainly immoral because resources like that ought to be passed on to people who can use them to enrich wildlife and human life,” he said.
Chris Packham . Pic: PA
Mr Packham added that he was currently teetotal and had been drinking one of Heineken’s alcohol-free products.
“I’m not drinking any more of it, because I just think we want companies in our lives that are looking after our planet and our future and our children’s future,” he said.
“They had an opportunity to do that and they’ve just squandered it, I just think it’s really short-sighted.”
The benefits of orchards, according to the Woodland Trust, include the fact fruit trees age quickly which creates deadwood habitats.
‘Disgraceful’
Fellow broadcaster Iolo Williams is calling for a boycott of the company after the “disgraceful” felling.
“I think that with these big companies, the only way [can make our voice heard] is to boycott them, hit them in the pocket,” he told Sky News.
“Because I do think, I genuinely think, it’s tragic what they’ve done when we could have helped to tackle the biodiversity crisis, the climate emergency, physical and mental health issues.
“All of these could have been helped just by them saying ‘Listen, we’re not going to use it again, why don’t we give it over to the local community?'”
Charles Watson, chair of River Action UK said the catchment of the River Wye needed “every tree and plant available” if its decline had “any chance of being reversed”.
“It is hugely disappointing to see Heineken destroy such a huge volume of natural biomass,” he said.
“Yet again the environment is being sacrificed for corporate profit.”
‘Huge surplus of apples’
A Heineken spokesperson said the company made clear its intention to sell Penrhos Farm, one of two apple farms it owns, in November last year.
“Over a number of years, the cider market has slowed and the yield of apples per acre has increased leading to a huge surplus of apples,” they said.
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The spokesperson added that the apples have “no other use than creating cider”.
“In order to make best use of the land to grow other crops, the bush orchards had to be removed,” they said.
“All the wood is shredded for biomass and the bushes were removed in line with The Wildlife Act.”
The company says it “firmly” remains a cider, beer and pub company and sources all of its apples from around 6,000 acres of orchards in and around Herefordshire.
The mother of Cassie Ventura has told a court she felt “physically sick” when her daughter told her Sean “Diddy” Combs had threatened to “release two explicit sex tapes” after discovering his long-time girlfriend was dating someone else.
Giving evidence on Tuesday, the seventh day of the trial, Regina Ventura said she did not initially understand the email Cassie sent her in December 2011, saying, “The sex tape threw me, [Diddy] was trying to hurt my daughter.”
The email said Combs was planning to release two explicit videos of her and send someone to hurt her and the man she was seeing, rapper Kid Cudi, whose real name is Scott Mescudi.
Regina said the family took out a home equity loan and paid Diddy $20,000 to recoup money he had spent on Cassie “because he demanded it,” angry that Cassie was now dating Cudi.
She said the money was returned days later.
During her evidence, jurors were shown photographs of bruises on Cassie’s body Ms Ventura said were taken when her daughter returned home for Christmas in 2011.
Regina’s time on the stand was fairly brief, as the defence declined the opportunity to question her.
Scott Mescudi, aka Kid Cudi, who dated Cassie in 2011. Pic: Reuters
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs trial: Day 7 – As it happened
Prosecutors say Combs, the founder of Bad Boy Records, forced women to take part in days-long, drug-fuelled sexual performances known as “Freak Offs” from 2004 to 2024, facilitated by his large retinue of staff. Combs, 55, has pleaded not guilty.
The rapper faces five criminal counts: one count of racketeering conspiracy; two counts of sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion; and two counts of transportation to engage in prostitution.
Combs and Cassie pictured in 2015. Pic: Reuters
Last week, the prosecutors’ star witness, Cassie Ventura, who dated Combs for over a decade, spent four days giving evidence.
Combs’s legal team has sought to show jurors that his relationship with Ventura was complicated, and while they acknowledge he was an abusive partner, and had substance issues, they say the sex acts described by the prosecution were consensual.
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‘Diddy wanted our bodies to shine’
A male exotic dancer nicknamed “The Punisher” also gave testimony, telling jurors that in the autumn of 2012, Cassie contacted him asking him to “create a sexy, erotic scene” Diddy, and using the pseudonym “Janet”.
Male exotic dancer Sharay Hayes, aka The Punisher. Pic: Reuters
Sharay Hayes said he went on to have eight to 12 more encounters with the couple, having sex with Cassie, while Diddy watched from a distance.
He described the hotel rooms as routinely being dressed with electric candles and sheet-covered furniture, and says Cassie told him not to “acknowledge” her husband, and to “try not to look at him and no communication”.
He says Diddy would often wear a cap, and he could not see his face, but he later realised it was the famous rapper.
“The Punisher” mentioned using a “considerable amount of baby oil” during the performances, saying “[Diddy] wanted us to keep our bodies covered, to shine”.
He later described the acts as “a fetish type thing,” and while he said he believed Cassie was fully consensual, he also said he “did occasionally see her sigh or wince” and said she would frequently look at Diddy “for cues”.
Paid between $1,200 (£900) and $2,000 (£1.500) for each performance, he said he was not called back after struggling to get an erection during one encounter.
He said he never saw Diddy use drugs or saw filming during any of the performances.
Car park dispute with Suge Knight
David James, Diddy’s ex-personal assistant, also completed his evidence and testified that he never saw physical violence between Cassie and his former boss.
David James, Combs’s former assistant. Pic: Reuters
James, who worked for Diddy for two years, said he left Diddy’s employment after he realised his “life was in danger” following a dispute in a car park with rival record label owner Suge Knight, which culminated in Diddy bringing three handguns to try to find Knight and his entourage.
He also detailed an altercation between Diddy and his personal chef, Jourdan Atkinson, and said he refused to file a police report after Diddy told him to say “Chef Jourdan hit him first”.
The final person to give evidence was a special agent responsible for planning the March 2024 raids on Combs’s Miami home on Star Island.
Steve Gannon showed photos of items taken during the raid, including sex toys, high heels and loaded guns, and explained how an armoured vehicle was used to break down the mansion’s front gate to gain entry while the family was away on a trip.
Combs has been held in the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn since September and faces at least 15 years or possibly life in prison if convicted.
The trial is set to last for around two months.
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