Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
MUDDYING THE WATERS
PM wanted ‘boring eco plan to sit on the shelf’
THE PM’S landmark green plan was overshadowed by claims her first Environment Secretary was told to make it “as boring as possible”.
Theresa May yesterday unveiled a scheme to extend a 5p carrier bag charge to all shops and called on supermarkets to devote whole aisles to plastic-free products in a bid to eliminate all avoidable plastics by the year 2042.
But Mrs May’s former spin chief Katie Perrior said: “Theresa May’s enthusiasm for protecting the environment may not be insincere but it is certainly new.
“The pretext for [her] speech is the 25-year environment plan. When I was at No 10, Andrea Leadsom, then the Environment Secretary, was told to make the plan as boring as possible. She duly delivered and it sat on a shelf gathering dust.”
Ms Perrior added Mrs May has only signed up to the agenda because “she is desperate for good headlines”.
Jeremy Corbyn blasted the plan’s lack of ambition and the 2042 target. The Labour leader said: “We have to be much, much tougher. Yes, take it on. But don’t do it in 25 years – do it now.”