Thank you to all of those who have contacted me about the environmental impact of the Retained EU Law Bill.

Our nature teeters on a cliff edge. Protecting biodiversity, halting the decline of nature and restoring habitats and wildlife must be a priority. I understand the concerns you raise regarding the future of environmental protections in domestic law and the Government’s Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill. Environmental protections form a substantial part of retained European Union law. I have opposed this Bill from the beginning because I believe it poses a significant threat to the environment alongside the uncertainty it would cause.

I want the United Kingdom’s world-class standards for environment and food regulations to be strengthened, not weakened, as a result of leaving the European Union. I therefore agreed with Lords amendment 15. This would have stopped a regression on food and environmental regulations. Unfortunately, Government MPs voted to remove this sensible measure when the House of Commons considered Lords amendments to the Bill on 24 May.

I also agreed with Lords amendment 42. This would have ensured future pieces of retained EU law that Ministers wish to restate, revoke, replace or update could not be passed via statutory instrument. In my view, this would have given Parliament the proper role that it deserves in such matters to scrutinise proposed changes to the law. Regrettably, the Government also acted to delete this change.

While I am pleased that Lords amendment 2 was accepted, I believe the Bill has revealed a Government with the wrong approach, and I would still prefer to see this legislation abandoned altogether. That being said, in my view, the Lords’ changes made the Bill substantially better. I regret that Ministers acted to remove many of those improvements. The legislation has now returned to the upper house, where I will continue to follow its progress closely. I will provide an update on my website when it returns to the Commons on Monday 12th June.

Thank you once again to all those who have contacted me.