The government has admitted that the former environment secretary broke the law when she issued licences to release gamebirds for shooting against expert advice.
openDemocracy revealed in November that Thérèse Coffey and her fellow environment minister Richard Benyon last year approved 15 licences to release gamebirds in or near protected wildlife sites, in direct contradiction to advice from the regulator Natural England.
Documents obtained by this website revealed that the decisions to approve the licences were all made at meetings attended by the Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust (GWCT), which is partly funded by shooting estates and previously listed Benyon as a trustee.
