and again posts the text of his letter on social media “X”.

Nicholas Pegg

I have today written to my MP, @simonjamesjupp, to urge him to withdraw his support for an environmentally disastrous proposal to remove @NaturalEngland’s power to designate Sites of Special Scientific Interest: a flagrant #AttackOnNature which must not be allowed to succeed.

To Simon Jupp, MP

House of Commons

London SW1A OAA

Tuesday, 9th April, 2024

Dear Mr Jupp,

While I await your reply on the matter of the bogus web links which misappropriated the name of Richard Foord MP to divert traffic to your own campaign website, I find that I must once again write as your constituent to raise a separate and most pressing matter.

I am extremely disappointed to learn that you are among the signatories to a letter which was sent to the Environment Secretary on 15 March 2024, urging him to support or ‘otherwise enact’ the provisions of a private member’s bill introduced on 13 March by Derek Thomas MP

This bill proposes that the power to designate Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs) should be removed from Natural England (a non-departmental public body which is independent of government) and instead be granted directly to the Secretary of State.

I can only assume that you were temporarily confused, or perhaps distracted by your urgent casework, when you agreed to sign a letter supporting such a damaging proposal – a letter which, unsurprisingly, all eighteen signatories kept very quiet about until its existence emerged yesterday.

The SSSI status is the foundation stone of nature conservation in England. Its strength lies in its designation being based purely on independent scientific evidence. If that power were to be transferred to the Secretary of State, it is all too clear that protected site designation would in future become compromised by political, economic and commercial considerations. In other words, this bill represents yet another ‘attack on nature’ of the kind advocated in September 2022 by the discredited former Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng, when he proposed measures to remove environmental protections – measures which were roundly condemned at the time by conservation charities including the Wildlife Trusts, the RSPB and the National Trust, and which contributed to Mr Kwarteng’s swift political downfall.

Mr Jupp, as your constituent I am calling on you to withdraw your signature from that ill-judged letter of support, and instead to speak and vote against this bill when it comes before the House for its second reading on Friday 26 April.

As an MP who professes to champion environmental issues, you must surely be aware that the only intellectually and morally justifiable choice open to you is to champion Natural England’s independence, and strive to ensure that the agency is adequately supported and funded to carry out its legal duties: specifically, to designate new SSSIs, to advise on their management, and, where appropriate, to use its legal powers to ensure their protection.

I look forward to your reply on this very serious matter, as well as on the very serious matter of the still unexplained website deception.

Yours sincerely,

Nicholas Pegg