Gove slams social media after animal welfare vote

Environment Secretary Michael Gove has hit out at social media users who wrongly claimed MPS voted against treating animals as sentient beings.

Mr Gove attacked the way decision-making and reporting are being “corrupted and distorted” by online commentators.

He blamed social media for presenting a false impression after the Commons rejected an amendment to Brexit legislation which would have brought EU animal protection provisions into UK law.

He told the BBC: “On social media there was a suggestion that somehow MPS had voted against the principle that animals are sentient beings. That did not happen. That was absolutely wrong. There’s an unhappy tendency now for people to believe that the raw and authentic voice of what’s shared on social media is more reliable than what is said in Hansard or on the BBC.”

Among celebrities who claimed online that MPS had voted to deny acknowledgement of animals as sentient beings were Ben Fogle and Sue Perkins. Mr Fogle apologised for tweets which said the vote showed MPS “don’t care” about how animals are treated.

The Environment Secretary insisted British legislation would be enacted to prevent a gap in animal welfare provisions opening up after Brexit.