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Who are you calling a blob, Owen Paterson?

As chairman of the National Trust, I’m part of the collection of green groups the former Environment Secretary blames for his sacking. He’s wrong

9 August 2014

9:00 AM

9 August 2014

9:00 AM

Why did David Cameron send Owen Paterson to Environment if he meant to sack him? Paterson knew and cared about his subject. He wore green wellies with panache, loathed Europe and wind turbines, and argued with everyone. He was a sop to the shires and a bulwark against Ukip. Yet like his colleague Michael Gove, he was found to be ‘toxic’.

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Simon Jenkins, is chairman of the National Trust. He writes a column for the Guardian, and is a former editor of the Times and the London Evening Standard.

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