Sir Keir Starmer’s war on bats and newts risks breaching Britain’s post-Brexit trade deal with the EU, a secret report has warned.
The prime minister has vowed to rip up protections for the animals as part of a drive to slash planning red tape and get Britain building again.
But a leaked EU report has warned that plans aimed at boosting economic growth could violate the terms of the EU-UK trade and cooperation agreement (TCA).
The confidential document, revealed by Politico, said the measures could breach “non-regression” clauses agreed by former prime minister Boris Johnson when he led Britain out of the EU.
It said: “The revision of environmental planning rules to facilitate building new developments is potentially in breach of the EU-UK TCA.”
It also noted chancellor Rachel Reeves’s repeated criticism of bats and newts as obstacles to economic growth, which it said was “a reference found in virtually every government interview and speech on the subject”.
The report highlighted “months of government rhetoric against ‘red tape’” and said the PM and chancellor have “specifically targeted environmental regulations, downplaying their effectiveness, if not ridiculing them”.
The leaked report was shared between the European Commission and EU member states last week and did not contain any reference to Brussels seeking redress for any potential breaches. The TCA underpins Britain’s trade with the bloc and is up for review next year.
Environmental groups have also hit out at the government’s anti-bat and newt rhetoric, which was spurred in part by the revelation that the HS2 rail project had spent more than £100m building a “shed” for bats.
Setting out her plans to boost the economy in January, Ms Reeves vowed the government would let developers “focus on getting things built and stop worrying over the bats and the newts”.
The Bat Conservation Trust (BCT) has said the chancellor’s language about bats is “deeply concerning” and that she “wrongly blames bats for slowing housebuilding and infrastructure projects”.
BCT president and environmental campaigner Chris Packham has accused Ms Reeves of “scapegoating” bats.
Meanwhile, newts have threatened building projects, including former PM Mr Johnson’s plans to build a pool at his country manor.
A government spokesperson said: “We are clear that change is needed if we are to halt the decline in the state of our environment, but also deliver the homes and infrastructure we need.
“Through the nature restoration fund, we will establish a new approach that will allow us to move beyond the current environmental status quo, securing meaningful, lasting improvements for nature.”
