An anti-Brexit campaigner is calling for damaging the environment to be made a criminal offence – with major polluters facing up to a decade in jail or a fine of up to £3.85m.
Gina Miller, who is now a leader of a political party, has joined with other campaign groups to warn the UK is falling far behind the European Union in terms of environmental protection.
Introducing a crime of ‘ecocide’ would prevent the UK becoming “the dirty, ill, poor man of Europe”, she said, with the term being defined as unlawful or wanton acts committed with the knowledge that there is a substantial likelihood of severe, widespread or long-term damage to the environment.
The businesswoman said that the UK’s progress on environmental policies had been stifled by Brexit and an inertia within Britain’s main political parties.
This comes as the EU became the first international body to criminalise wide-scale environmental damage when MEPs passed an update to the group’s environmental crime directive in February, giving member states two years to enshrine it into national law.
France already has similarly legislation in place.
Recent months have seen increasing focus on pollution of the UK’s waterways, and on air pollution in cities with the expansion of the Ultra Low Emission Zone last year.
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Ms Miller, who came to prominence bringing legal cases over Brexit, said: “Brexit has allowed us to weaken our environmental rules and dilute our climate ambitions.
“We are not only pitifully lagging behind Europe, but we have lost all credibility as a global leader in environmental protection.
“We were once called the poor man of Europe. Unless our politicians seriously address the need for robust, pragmatic rules and regulations to safeguard our nation against the negative effects of climate change, we will be the dirty, ill, poor man of Europe.”
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Environmental campaigners, including broadcaster Chris Packham, welcomed the move.
Fighting Dirty director Georgia Elliott-Smith said: “A crime of ecocide will hold directors personally liable for harming the environment and make them responsible for cleaning up their mess.”
A DEFRA spokesperson responded, saying: “We are unequivocal about enhancing the UK’s already high standards on environmental protection, with new legally binding targets under our Environment Act and many of our statutory schemes equalling or going beyond EU targets.
“We already have a clear polluter pays principle in law under the Environment Act and we are taking tough action to hold polluters to account by quadrupling water company inspections and changing the law so that polluters face unlimited penalties from the Environment Agency, which are quicker and easier to enforce.”
Ms Miller, who is standing at the next general election as leader of the True & Fair Party, claimed that around 85% of the UK’s environmental protection came from EU legislation.
The True & Fair Party was founded in 2021 and aims to “shape a fairer, more hopeful future for our country. Where integrity, transparency and accountability are the tenants of our democracy”, according to its website.
