Beccy Speight, chief executive of the RSPB said: “This week, for the third time, most MPs voted again against wholly sensible REUL Bill amendments to safeguard our environmental protections and protect democracy. Peers have repeatedly amended the Bill to safeguard our environmental protections but they have been repeatedly voted down in the House of Commons. And we share the frustrations of many thousands of our supporters who have taken the time to contact their MP asking for nothing more complicated than a commitment in writing not to weaken the rules and regulations set up to protect nature and the environment as part of the REUL Bill.
“It seems that the REUL Bill is stuck in a ‘Groundhog Day’ as Rishi Sunak’s UK Government is repeatedly refusing to compromise and put their verbal commitment to nature protections in writing. And our supporters are rightly concerned that this leaves crucial protections for nature at risk of future weakening. This should not be a battle of attrition, it should simply be doing what is right in a nature and climate emergency. It is time that our Prime Minister lived up to his pledge of an accountable Government.”
