ΒιΆΉΤΌΕΔ

On the first point, the ECU thought listeners would have understood it was Mr Knott’s expert opinion that the presence of bee-eaters nesting and breeding in Norfolk was a clear sign climate change was affecting UK wildlife. Β This is because the birds usually nest in warmer regions such as north Africa and southern Europe. Β The RSPB says the birds have been spotted in this country six times since 2001 whereas the previous sighting was 1955. Β No bee-eaters, insofar as the ECU was aware, are recorded as trying to nest here between 1956 and 2001, as evidenced by Rare Bird Alert and Bird Guides. Β Listeners would have understood this was the RSPB’s view and the evidence which had led it to reach such a conclusion.Β 

On the second point, Mr Knott said the country was facing β€œa nature and a climate emergency” and urged the Government to take action to tackle climate change β€œbut importantly not at the expense of nature”. Β He referred specifically to the Government’s decision to give development consent to the Sizewell C nuclear power station. Β In the ECU’s view, rather than attacking Government policy in relation to nuclear power, Mr Knott was raising a specific concern about the effect of the Sizewell C development on wildlife in the area (in keeping with the RSPB’s public opposition to the Sizewell C plan on the grounds that it β€œcould have detrimental impacts on internationally and nationally important landscapes, habitats and species of the Suffolk coast and at RSPB Minsmere nature reserve”). The ECU did not agree therefore that his contribution led to a breach of the ΒιΆΉΤΌΕΔ’s standards for due impartiality.
Not Upheld