In October 2010, the government introduced the Public Bodies Bill to the House of Lords, which would have enabled the Secretary of State to sell or lease public forests in England. According to The Guardian, "the news [was] met with near-universal disgust and shock". The same newspaper also quoted Caroline Lucas MP, leader of the Green Party of England and Wales, as saying it was an "unforgivable act of environmental vandalism". An online petition opposing the sale received more than 500,000 signatories. In February 2011, after a sustained campaign of protest by groups such as the Ramblers, Save Our Woods and Hands off our Forest, the government announced it had abandoned its current plans and would remove the forestry clauses from the Public Bodies Bill. An 'independent panel' was also established to advise on the future direction of forestry and woodland policy in England, and on the role of the Forestry Commission. The panel's interim report in late 2011 suggested that the government had ignored the benefits of publicly owned forests.
In October 2010, the government introduced the Public Bodies Bill to the House of Lords, which would have enabled the Secretary of State to sell or lease public forests in England. According to The Guardian, "the news [was] met with near-universal disgust and shock". The same newspaper also quoted Caroline Lucas MP, leader of the Green Party of England and Wales, as saying it was an "unforgivable act of environmental vandalism". An online petition opposing the sale received more than 500000 signatories. In February 2011, after a sustained campaign of protest by groups such as the Ramblers, Save Our Woods and Hands off our Forest, the government announced it had abandoned its current plans and would remove the forestry clauses from the Public Bodies Bill. An 'independent panel' was also established to advise on the future direction of forestry and woodland policy in England, and on the role of the Forestry Commission. The panel's interim report in late 2011 suggested that the government had ignored the benefits of publicly owned forests.