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ENVIRONMENT AGENCY CHIEF UNDER FIRE...AGAIN! FOE calls on Lord De Ramsey to quit

26 January 1999

Today's Mirror revelation is the latest in a catalogue of errors of judgement Lord De Ramsey has made. In the past FOE has criticised him for:

  • Allowing houses to be built on greenfield land that he owns;
  • Allowing genetically modified sugar beet to be grown on farm land that he owns;

Lord De Ramsey is paid more than £50,000 for his two and a half day week job at the Environment Agency. He was appointed as Chief Executive by the previous Conservative Government.

In his letter to Lord De Ramsey, Charles Secrett, Director of Friends of the Earth, says:
“Following the public criticism in recent months over the Agency's failure to provide leadership in many crucial areas of environmental policy and decision making, and its distinctly patchy record of prosecution against illegal industrial pollution, alongside your own controversial involvement in allowing trials of genetically modified crops and new housing developments on your Estate,Friends of the Earth is convinced that your position as Chairman of the Agency has become untenable. It is imperative that the Agency both acts, and is publicly believed to act, as a credible, effective and objective guardian of environmental interests. In our view, these controversies, and today's revelations, have fatally undermined public confidence in the Agency's ability to fulfil this role.

Therefore, we respectfully urge you to help restore the Agency's faltering reputation as an effective regulatory body by resigning from your post as Chairman immediately.

If you're a journalist looking for press information please contact the Friends of the Earth media team on 020 7566 1649.

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Published by Friends of the Earth Trust

 

 

Last modified: Jul 2008