Facing a celebrity alliance comprising actress, Dame Judi Dench, and singer, Annie Lennox, and spearheaded by the Archbishop of Canterbury – environment secretary, Caroline Spelman, has embarked on a pilgrimage across the nation's newsrooms explaining the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs' plans to reform the forest estate.
Protection of wildlife, environment and heritage sites represent notorious elephant traps for ministers and officials. News editors revel in highlighting the disconnect between remote officialdom and local, grass-roots sensibilities. Images of committed tree-huggers being prised from trunks and branches by hard-hatted security guards acquire a patina of tradition such as Trooping The Colour.
