Tories' last gasp, flog public land before they lose next May – The Infrastructure Bill

[Tony Gosling]

Parliament’s New Chainsaw – The Infrastructure Bill

http://saveourwoods.co.uk/articles/infrastructure-bill/parliaments-new-chainsaw-the-infrastructure-bill/
18/10/2014    in 
<http://saveourwoods.co.uk/category/articles/infrastructure-bill/>INFRASTRUCTURE 
BILL    by Hands Off Our Forest 
(HOOF)<http://saveourwoods.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/parliaments_new_chainsaw1.jpg>
Parliaments new chainsaw
A new mural has appeared on the side of a Forest 
of Dean home in protest at the negative impact 
the proposed infrastructure bill could have on 
our public forests. Painted by artist Tom Cousins

DID you know legislation is currently being 
pushed through Parliament that will allow any 
public land to be transferred by a Government 
agency, all rights of way extinguished, to private developers?

Did you know the same law – the 
<http://services.parliament.uk/bills/2014-15/infrastructure.html>Infrastructure 
Bill – will allow any substance whatsoever to be 
dumped under any land, and that it will become a 
legal objective to frack anywhere where there is 
the potential of shale gas, or turn any coal seam into gas?

Did you also know that the same law gives the 
potential go-ahead to exterminate barn owls, red 
kites, goshawks, wild boar, and a great many 
other species not deemed as ‘native’?

You’d be forgiven for not knowing because 
incredibly – despite its massive implications for 
nature, the environment and also our rural and 
urban spaces – the 
<http://services.parliament.uk/bills/2014-15/infrastructure.html>Infrastructure 
Bill has almost entirely not made the news.

There are no celebrities crying ‘foul’ or any 
politicians who are supposed to be opposed to the 
Government. It’s almost as if all parties want 
this law to be passed under the radar, because 
whoever gets in after May 2015 will have carte 
blanche to hand over our countryside, urban 
public spaces, and the ground we walk and live on, to multinational companies.

Thankfully people have started raising the alarm 
about the 
<http://ec.europa.eu/trade/policy/in-focus/ttip/>TTIP 
US-EU trade deal and its potential for the 
privatisation of everything. These discussions 
are being held behind closed doors, and its only 
thanks to leaks from German MEPs that we have an inkling of what’s being said.

The 
<http://services.parliament.uk/bills/2014-15/infrastructure.html>Infrastructure 
Bill, however, has already been debated in the 
House of Lords for a total period of about 10 
days, and yet apparently it’s not worth 
reporting. The Bill in its totality, and all the 
proposed amendments, can be read on the 
Parliament website. It’s there in black and white.

And yet we campaigners in the Forest of Dean only 
spotted its existence and content when, 
disappointed after draft legislation we’d been 
promised aimed at protecting our forests was 
jettisoned by the Government in June, we decided 
to look into what else the Government might have up its sleeve.

As soon as we raised the alarm, the Government 
attempted to put the lid on by confirming forests 
weren’t included in the land transfer schemes 
contained 
in<http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/bills/lbill/2014-2015/0045/15045.pdf>Clause 
21 of the Bill. I invite anyone to read this 
section, as the only land exempt from disposal 
detailed in the Bill is that owned by the royal family.

We have heard various arguments – forests and 
national parks can’t be included because they are 
not surplus, the only land being considered is 
brownfield, and only land held by arms-length 
bodies can be included. I’ll let anyone read 
Clause 21 (and 
<http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/bills/lbill/2014-2015/0045/15045.pdf>Section 
53A of it in particular) themselves and draw 
their own conclusions. The words surplus, 
brownfield, arms-length or any equivalent do not appear.

There is no exemption whatsoever for any public 
land (apart from Crown) contained within the Bill.
An oversight, poorly defined drafting that could 
easily be rectified, you’d think. If the 
Government says forests aren’t at risk of land 
transfer schemes, then why not amend the Bill to state that?

But Baroness Royall of Blaisdon, a member of the 
Hands Off Our Forest steering group, with the 
Bishop of St Albans, have been told by the 
Government’s Baroness Kramer that their amendment 
to exclude the Public Forest Estate “will be resisted”.

The Bill is due to be debated in the Reports 
Stage in November. After that there will be a 
third reading and – if the Government doesn’t 
back the amendment on forests – there is likely 
to be a vote. Hence we at HOOF are urging people 
to lobby lords to support Baroness Royall and the 
Bishop of St Albans’ amendment. See 
<http://www.handsoffourforest.org/>www.handsoffourforest.org

The fracking elements also cause us alarm because 
our Forest of Dean is a coalfield – coal 
gasification (when seams are set fire to and the 
gas recovered from a power plant above) is part 
of the proposed ‘energy mix’; we also have 
proposed expansion of nuclear power stations just 
across the river (Severn) from us. Back in the 
1980s, the Government tried to persuade the local 
authority to allow disused mine shafts to dump 
radioactive waste. The waste produced from fracking is also partly radioactive.

So there we have it, the Infrastructure Bill – 
opening the door wide for any future government 
to take any land, override any easements and 
rights of way, and give to the Government, with a 
wide remit to destroy a wide range of species, 
and to frack under any public or private land. 
Energy minister Baroness Verma noted in the last 
day of the Committee stage in the Lords (October 
14) that regarding the consultation about 
fracking: “Stakeholder responses from the 
petroleum and geothermal industry unanimously 
supported the legislation, as did wider industry, 
such as manufacturing, the steel industry and 
engineering associations
 Environmental groups 
and various civil society organisations opposed 
legislation. Having carefully considered the 
various issues raised within the consultation 
responses and whether any compelling new 
arguments had been presented, we firmly believe 
that the proposed policy is the right approach.”

Remember February 2011, when the Government’s 
Caroline Spelman made great virtue of the fact 
that the Government had listened to the public 
when she ditched the forests sell-off proposal? 
Well the public’s views don’t seem to be worth 
listening to now, not big industry has spoken


Here in the Forest of Dean, thanks to us 
extensively leafletting and using social media, 
there is a growing clamour against the 
Infrastructure Bill. The media have given us no 
help – recent correspondence with one editor said 
unless we “hit them between the eyes” it won’t 
make the paper. Our remit is protecting the 
Public Forest Estate, others may want to protect 
their local beach, mountain, park, recreation 
ground, allotment or remaining green space


I would have thought everyone should be up in 
arms about this. Are you? Will you help us spread the word?

Below are a couple of links which give some background:

<http://www.schnews.org.uk/stories/FRACK-TO-FRONT/>http://www.schnews.org.uk/stories/FRACK-TO-FRONT/

http://www.theecologist.org/News/news_analysis/2447901/save_our_public_lands_and_forests.html

We don’t have long to stop this! Affirmative action now, or else




OWEN ADAMS, HANDS OFF OUR FOREST




Pressure mounts on Fiona Woolf to quit after 
victims say she is 'beyond the pale'

By 
<http://londonnews24.com/2014/10/pressure-mounts-on-fiona-woolf-to-quit-after-victims-say-she-is-beyond-the-pale-3/http://londonnews24.com/author/ln24-editor/>Automated 
Feedreader on 10/22/2014 9:10 pm in 
<http://londonnews24.com/2014/10/pressure-mounts-on-fiona-woolf-to-quit-after-victims-say-she-is-beyond-the-pale-3/http://londonnews24.com/category/central-west-hammersmith-and-fulham-kensington-and-chelsea-richmond-wandsworth-news-and-features/>Central 
West

    * Theresa May appointed Fiona Woolf after her original choice quit
    * Lady Butler-Sloss stepped down because her brother was attorney general
    * But Woolf admitted she is a dinner party friend of top Tory Leon Brittan
    * Brittan rejects claims he failed to act on 
1980s dossier of abuse allegations
    * Lawyer for victims said Mrs Woolf was ‘beyond the pale’ over links
    * Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg distances himself from Mrs Woolf
    * Victim of child sex abuse launches legal challenge to her appointment

By

Tom McTague, Deputy Political Editor for MailOnline

The new chairman of the government inquiry into 
child sex abuse is facing growing pressure to 
resign today – after victims dismissed her as 
‘beyond the pale’ over her links to top Tory Leon Brittan.

Fiona Woolf admitted she entertained Lord Brittan 
and his wife three times at dinner parties at her 
house, and twice went to his central London home 
for dinner. The former Home Secretary is accused 
of burying a dossier on child sex abuse given to him in 1983.

It emerged however that the list of meetings with 
Lord Brittan which she gave to MPs may have been 
incomplete, after a photograph surfaced showing 
her chatting to the Tory peer’s wife at a prize-giving last October.

Lawyer Alison Millar representing child abuse 
victims said the revelations showed Mrs Woolf was 
not fit to oversee the official inquiry. A victim 
of historical child sexual abuse has also 
launched a legal challenge to Mrs Woolf’s appointment.

There are calls for Fiona Woolf to quit after she 
admitted she entertained former Home Secretary 
Leon Brittan and his wife three times at dinner 
parties at her house, and twice went to his central London home for dinner

Fiona Woolf () was with Lady Brittan () at the 
2013 Dragon Awards at Mansion House in October 
last year – alongside journalist Martyn Lewis 
(centre) – but did not mention this meeting to MPs

Nick Clegg today distanced himself from Mrs Woolf 
and a host of MPs called for her to step down.

The Deputy Prime Minister said the decision to 
pick Mrs Woolf, the Lord Mayor of London, had 
been made after ‘an extensive process and 
recommendation’ by Home Secretary Theresa May.

But the Liberal Democrat president Tim Farron 
went further and called for her to quit. He said: 
‘This is Theresa May’s appointment and again it 
looks like she has picked someone whose 
independence can be seriously questioned.’ Labour 
frontbenchers Jim Murphy and Caroline Flint also called for her to step down.

Asked whether Mrs Woolf should step down, Ms 
Millar – represents a number of abuse victims 
whose cases are likely to be raised in the 
inquiry – said: ‘Yes. I think this evidence of 
dinner parties with Lord Brittan really puts her 
beyond the pale in terms of her credibility with my clients.’

Ms Millar told BBC Radio 4 s Today programme: 
‘This is not about Fiona Woolf’s ability or her 
integrity. This is about her independence and her 
ability to lead this inquiry in a way that is 
credible to the survivors of abuse whom I represent.

‘The people that I am in contact with because 
they are my clients, or I am in contact with 
otherwise, the general view among them is that 
Fiona Woolf really does not have the necessary 
credibility to lead what is such an important inquiry for them.’

Home Secretary Theresa May has insisted the 
inquiry can go ahead, despite the chairman’s links to Leon Brittan ()


THE SIX QUESTIONS FOR BRITTAN

Lord Brittan is accused of burying a dossier 
given to him by MP Geoffrey Dickens in 1983.

It documented the alleged involvement of VIP 
figures in a child sex ring. He has denied the 
claims. These are the unanswered questions:
    * Why was the Dickens dossier either ‘not 
retained’ or destroyed by the Home Office?
    * Which officials had sight of the document?
    * Is there any record of the dossier with prosecutors or the police?
    * Dickens handed over another dossier in 
January 1984, apparently containing allegations 
of abuse in children’s homes. What action was taken over this file?
    * The Home Office says it retains a file 
containing a letter Brittan sent to Dickens. Does 
it identify any individuals named by the MP?
    * Given his key role at the time, why was 
Brittan not contacted by the Home Office during 
its review into the handling of organised child 
sex abuse allegations – including the Dickens dossier?

Abuse survivor Phil Frampton, who supports other 
victims of abuse in care homes, told the Today 
programme: ‘I am absolutely appalled at Fiona 
Woolf’s appointment. It’s like putting Wayne 
Rooney in charge of an investigation of the nuclear energy industry.

‘What appals me is that this is about very, very 
serious crimes and horror for children, and 
adults who are living with it still. It’s like 
putting a few puppets in place to deal with the seriousness of the situation.’

Liberal Democrat MP John Hemming called on Mrs 
Woolf to stand down, describing her appointment 
as ‘a mistake’. Mr Hemming, who was one of the 
first MPs to call for an inquiry, told the BBC:

‘Appointing Fiona Woolf is 
 a mistake. She’s 
clearly a fully fledged member of the 
establishment. I think she should stand down 
because an independent observer would think there’s a possibility of bias.’

Another victim of alleged abuse in local 
authority care, who could not be named for legal 
reasons, told the Today programme: ‘Everyone 
deserves a chance, but I thought she lacks a huge 
amount of credibility from a victim’s perspective.

‘She talks about ‘victim communities’. There is 
no such thing as a victim community. All the 
victims have had to live their lives in 
mainstream society carrying some terrible, 
terrible scars and being ostracised by society by and large.

‘And yet we have the lord mayor of London to 
represent victims. It’s laughable.’

Rochdale MP Simon Danczuk, who led the campaign 
for an inquiry, said Mrs Woolf and Lord Brittan 
were ‘clearly good friends’ and she should stand down.

Mr Danczuk said she seemed ‘out of her depth’ in 
her appearance before the MPs’ committee 
yesterday. And he made the extraordinary claim 
the Home Office may have been trying to ‘protect’ 
Lord Brittan with the appointment.

‘I have serious concerns about the relationship 
between Fiona Woolf and Leon Brittan,’ he said. 
‘He is surely somebody who has to be investigated 
as part of the inquiry – not least because of his 
role as Home Secretary at the time.

‘The public will be concerned they are trying to protect Lord Brittan.’

He added: ‘The vast majority of people I know, if 
you have somebody round for dinner in your home, 
you would consider them a good friend. She should not be doing this job.’

Lord Brittan is likely to be called to give 
evidence to the inquiry about allegations – which 
he denies – that in his time as Home Secretary in 
the Eighties he was at the centre of an 
Establishment cover-up of sex abuse claims.

Mrs Woolf, who lives on the same street as the 
peer, also met his wife for coffee several times, 
sat on a prize-giving panel with her, and sponsored her £50 for a charity run.

The Home Secretary’s first choice to lead the 
inquiry into historic child abuse was Baroness 
Butler-Sloss (), but she was forced to step down 
because her brother was the Government’s attorney 
general.  Labour MP Simon Danczuk called for her to stand down

Former Home Secretary Lord Brittan is accused of 
failing to act on a dossier about alleged VIP 
paedophile rings given to him by MP Geoffrey Dickens in 1983.

The peer has denied the claims. Mrs Woolf, giving 
evidence to the Home Affairs Select Committee 
yesterday, insisted the inquiry would 
‘relentlessly uncover the truth for the victims’.

Details of Mrs Woolf’s contacts with the Brittans 
emerged in a letter she sent to Home Secretary 
Theresa May, published yesterday.She said they 
lived on the same street since 2004, and invited 
the couple to a party at her home in January 
2008, October 2008 and February 2009.

She also attended dinner parties hosted by Lord 
Brittan in November 2009 and February 2012. Mrs 
Woolf told the committee she was given Home Office help in drafting the letter.

Labour MP Keith Vaz, the committee chairman, said 
it was a ‘bit odd’ a draft of the letter was seen 
by the Home Office before it was sent to Mrs May. 
‘Surely you should have written your own letter?’ he asked.

Labour MP Paul Flynn pointed out the first choice 
as inquiry chair, Lady Butler-Sloss, had 
withdrawn because her brother was Attorney 
General during some of the period in question. 
‘You seem to be an Establishment figure as well. 
Shouldn’t you resign in the interest of the report being accepted?’ he asked.

Labour MP for Bassetlaw John Mann said it was 
‘totally impossible’ for Mrs Woolf to chair the inquiry.

Mrs Woolf was given the full backing of Downing 
Street and the Home Office. A Number 10 spokesman 
insisted Mrs Woolf had the Prime Minister’s 
confidence, and she and the panel would ‘carry 
out their duties to the high standards of integrity required’.

Before MPs Mrs Woolf, a former president of the 
Law Society and the current Lord Mayor of London, 
insisted she was not a member of the 
Establishment and was an ‘ordinary solicitor’. 
She said Lord Brittan was ‘one of thousands’ of people she knew in London.
- See more at: 
http://londonnews24.com/2014/10/pressure-mounts-on-fiona-woolf-to-quit-after-victims-say-she-is-beyond-the-pale-3/#sthash.IIvksXlU.dpuf  
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