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Tories plan to slash environmental spending
28 July 2004
Commenting today on the Tories' announcement that they are planning massive cuts at the Department of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, including cuts of more than 1000 staff at the Environment Agency and 15 million of the budget of English Nature, Friends of the Earth's Executive Director Tony Juniper said today:
"The Conservatives' plan to slash and burn spending at DEFRA is a dangerous attack on Britain's environment and countryside. Cutting Environment Agency staffing risks undoing some of the excellent achievements made over recent years, including cutting by half the amount of cancer-causing chemicals being released by factories and cleaning up our rivers so they are the healthiest for 100 years. English Nature is on the frontline of protecting Britain's vulnerable wildlife and cutting finances here will undoubtedly lead to the destruction of some of our finest habitats. Given the increasing urgency of environmental issues such as climate change, DEFRA's funding should be increased not cut. Oliver Letwin's plans are nothing short of madness."
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Published by Friends of the Earth Trust
Last modified: Jun 2008
