openDemocracy has revealed that Ministers are taking high-level environmental advice from a business leader whose firm was fined millions for pumping raw sewage into British waters.

This is what I told openDemocracy:

When the Government takes environmental advice from the very people who are responsible for environmental damage, it is clear our political institutions are in a state of deep rooted system failure.

This is like putting arsonists in charge of a fire safety board.

At its heart, this signals the democratic deficit at the core of our politics. A democracy would deliver policy that is responsive to the public’s growing concerns about environmental and climate crisis; democratic ownership of our collective assets and resources; and accountability for those charged with managing those assets. Our politics is bereft of these features.

Read the full article here.