On why Therese Coffey and Defra do not have a species reintroduction plan she tells Efra committee: "It really ain't one of our priorities. Species reintroduction is simply not a priority for this administration". Blames a future Labour govt for lack of investment in water cos: "recently financial analysts said people should buy shares in water companies, but not if labour get into power".

Hi @DefraGovUK @theresecoffey no one in your press office is picking up the phone. Why is the right-wing press invited to your briefing on water which starts in less than an hour but not the Guardian? Please correct this ASAP as we would like to cover your announcement. @DefraGovUK @theresecoffey Update: They invited a journalist who is on holiday and despite no response or RSVP from said journalist they still refusing to send me the link to the briefing as its "one invite per publication" despite fact said person is on holiday and not checking emails.

Therese Coffey says "I am not going to pretend to read @FarmersWeekly" because "I am into information and facts" when asked about @Merry_Meredith 's editorial describing her appearance at NFU as a "car crash". Also accused him of "voting Liberal Democrat for a decade". I would suggest @theresecoffey reads @FarmersWeekly as it is full of the facts about what the farmers she represents think, and also very good journalism and scoops

He adds: "A backpacker who walks onto Dartmoor to take a long walk lasting more than a day as many do will be a person accessing the commons on foot, they will be doing so for the purposes of recreation." and posits that wild camping is clearly outdoor recreation and thus allowed He said: "The NPA, ramblers, campers and others should be able to continue all their affairs... without somebody such as the claimants coming in and saying we are newcomers, we don’t like that approach, we would rather that a novel approach."

Astonishing, the Dartmoor National Parks Authority is not letting the Press look at skeleton arguments. It is our right to do so, are they not confident in their arguments? Please provide access to the Press @dartmoornpa

Back at court today for the wild camping case- stay tuned for updates theguardian.com/uk-news/2022/d… This case is very interesting. The byelaw which has been used to allow wild camping does not expressly mention 'camping', so the argument is about what recreational use of the commons means. Darwall's barrister argues that picnicking for example is fine but camping isn't.

At @EnvironmentAPPG drinks where @CSkidmoreUK said he almost became an independent MP after the recent fracking group and says he enjoys working with MPs like @CarolineLucas against those who are “sceptical” about improving the environment He says he’s sent his draft of the net zero review off and it’s 100,000 words. I look forward to reading it all 🤓

Morning from a snowy and majestic Royal Courts of Justice where this week a landowner goes to court to ban wild camping on the whole of Dartmoor. There will be updates in @guardian this week - stay tuned theguardian.com/environment/20… Huge turnout on this freezing day for a protest outside court. Including lots of locals who’ve made it all the way from Dartmoor

I’ve made a Mastodon in case twitter dies - @Horton_official@mastodon.me.uk Environment people - send me your Mastodons or follow me on there, going to start posting my articles and other reporting there, too.

Jacob Rees-Mogg reveals that local referendums, held by local authorities, will be considered as local consent for fracking. He previously suggested fracking companies could do their own polling as evidence of local support. Former environment minister @pow_rebecca points out fracking uses a huge amount of water. We are currently in drought and trying to conserve water.

About to hear @SteveBakerHW @BimAfolami views on “whether we can afford net zero”. Stay tuned #cpc22 Steve cites research from Net Zero Watch and says we can’t afford net zero in the short term because of the energy crisis but in the long term it’s “water under the bridge”. Experts may say that we can’t do it in long term without short term action.

Grant Shapps says we have to end our reliance on fossil fuels and that renewables and net zero are the future - that Britain can be the top place to manufacture low carbon transport if the political will is there #cpc22 Chris Skidmore says “we can never take the energy transition for granted” which is why he is keeping net zero on the agenda and accepted Truss offer to review it to make it more “pro business” #cpc22