Reacting to David Cameron’s call today for a crackdown on the planning system as part of a war-time effort to boost the economy, Friends of the Earth’s Executive Director Andy Atkins said:

“The planning system plays an important role in protecting our green and pleasant land. It mustn’t become a scapegoat for the Government’s economic failings.

“EU rules protect peoples’ legal right to defend their environment – any moves to prevent this may well be unlawful.

“Protecting the environment and boosting the economy are two sides of the same coin.

“With anti-environment Chancellor George Osborne leading plans to put economic growth on a war footing, one bit of the economy that has grown – the green bit – is now under concerted attack.”