By Colin Fernadez For The Daily Mail
Published: 23:28 BST, 2 May 2019 | Updated: 23:28 BST, 2 May 2019
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Michael Gove was forced into a U-turn last night as it emerged Natural England is to be stripped of its power over licences to shoot wild birds.
Michael Gove was forced into a U-turn last night as it emerged Natural England is to be stripped of its power over licences to shoot wild birds.
Despite months of overtures to the green lobby, the Environment Secretary was yesterday made to appease furious Conservative MPs and ‘take back control’ of gun licensing powers from the nature watchdog, it was claimed.
Mr Gove’s decision follows his recent appointment of Tony Juniper, a former head of Friends of The Earth and leading green campaigner, as head of Natural England.
While the licensing fiasco happened before Mr Juniper was appointed, under interim chief Marian Spain, it was seen as a bid by Mr Gove to promote a member of the environmentalist lobby at the expense of traditional Tory rural interests. Countryside Alliance chief Tim Bonner said: ‘This is a potential crisis for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. Michael Gove has been keen to embrace the environmental movement and Natural England may have mistaken his willingness to engage with all parts of the debate with a change of policy favouring the
