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Public Forest Estate (England)

I agree with my hon. Friend. I notice that the heritage forests, which are to be saved, are in the south of England, not the north. People need forests for the physical, mental and spiritual freedom that they get from them, but the Treasury has succumbed to what used to be called political arithmeticians. Nothing has changed. A parliamentary committee of inquiry in 1763 was told in evidence that there would be a loss of hedgerows and a decline in the linnet population. It is perhaps not a coincidence that Trevelyan, the great historian, became a founder of the National Trust. His view was that"““without access to wild nature the English would spiritually perish””." I am therefore calling on Ministers and the Secretary of State to stop this fire sale. The hastily-put-together retreat of selling the forests to community organisations is utterly ludicrous. Why should people pay for what they already own? The forest is a place for free spirits. Those spirits will not quenched by this pathetic, mean, small-minded Government. The inestimable Teesdale Mercury has launched a ““Hands of Hamsterley”” campaign. I am calling on everyone who cares to come to Hamsterley forest on 26 February for the ramble in aid of keeping Ministers' hands off Hamsterley.