The Guardian reports Ministers have been accused of hypocrisy in bringing forward a “toothless” environment bill that will fail to protect against developers concreting over valuable green space, lack provisions for improving air quality, and contain what campaigners said were inadequate protections for wildlife.

The government voted down amendments to its flagship environment bill on Wednesday that would have strengthened the powers of a watchdog, given local communities more say over planning and development, and expanded protections for habitats.

The BBC and Independent report more than 50 wildlife experts, politicians and celebrities have signed a letter to Boris Johnson demanding tougher action on nature loss. The UK prime minister’s father, Stanley, is among signatories calling on the UK to become the first country to set legally binding targets for nature recovery.

The government has pledged to protect 30% of land and sea for nature by 2030. The letter calls for this ambition to be enshrined in law. 

iNEWS reports Boris Johnson is facing pressure to “deliver on his promises” to reverse the startling decline in UK nature by writing into law binding biodiversity targets. Mr Johnson has promised to protect at least 30 per cent of UK land for nature by the end of the decade, a move the government has claimed will “put nature and biodiversity on a road to recovery by 2030”.  But conservation groups say this ambition must be written into law, pointing out the current wording of the Environment Bill will not force action to improve nature in England until 2038.