No 10 blocks beaver release plans because policy seen as 'Tory legacy'

Downing Street has blocked plans to release wild beavers in England because officials view it as a "Tory legacy", the Guardian can reveal.

- Helena Horton

Natural England, the government's nature watchdog, has drawn up a plan for reintroductions of the rodent, which until about 20 years ago had been extinct in Britain for 400 years, having been hunted for their fur, meat and scent oil.

Beavers create useful habitats for wildlife and reduce flooding by breaking up waterways, slowing water flow, and creating still pools.

The reintroduction plan was signed off in recent weeks by the environment secretary, Steve Reed, who passed it to No 10. But it was blocked by senior Downing Street officials, who viewed it as a "Tory legacy", sources said.

The former Conservative prime minister Boris Johnson was keen on reintroducing beavers, promising in his 2021 conference speech to "build back beaver". He also tried to get permission for his father, Stanley, to release beavers on his Exmoor estate.