Chris Packham condemns omission of nature in the Budget at clean water march

An estimated 15,000 people joined a range of environmental groups on the March for Clean Water to demand tougher action on protecting UK waterways.

Chris Packham and Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall joined thousands of protesters on the march in London (Ben Whitley/PA) (PA Wire)

Chris Packham has criticised the Government for not mentioning climate or nature in its Budget during a protest march against water pollution.

The naturalist and TV presenter said the omission was “scary” given the “parlous state” of the UK’s lakes, rivers and seas as he addressed demonstrators in London on Sunday.

An estimated 15,000 people joined a range of environmental groups, including River Action, Greenpeace, the Wildlife Trusts and British Rowing, on the March for Clean Water to demand tougher action on keeping the UK’s waterways clean.

Protesters gathered at the Albert Embankment before heading along the River Thames to a rally in Parliament Square.

Speaking at the rally, Packham said: “Rachel Reeves gave a Budget in 2024, whilst Valencia was being flooded and people were losing their lives, and she didn’t use the word climate or nature once in that Budget.

“Now that’s scary.”

Pointing at Parliament, Packham added: “I know there are plenty of MPs and ministers over there who are desperate to do what they need to do and do their job – but they need to be given access to the resources, and part of that is finance.

“We’re here in good-natured mood because I think that we’ve got to give them time, and this is going to take some time, but you have to mitigate that against the urgency of the situation. Because it is an absolute crisis.”

Packham said he was “angry, frustrated, and disgruntled” by the state of the UK’s fresh and marine water and called on the Government to “act more rapidly” given the technology available to fix the issues.

He added: “Now we find ourselves in a ghastly mess where our rivers are in a parlous state – among the worst in Europe.”

Environmental activist and singer Feargal Sharkey and chef HughFearnley-Whittingstall were also among those who joined the event.

The campaign called for an immediate root and branch review of the regulator Ofwat and the Environment Agency, the stricter enforcement of existing laws and regulations on water pollution and ensuring all polluting industries invest in upgrading infrastructure, reducing water wastage and leakage and helping farmers restore habitats.

Demonstrators wore blue clothing and waved blue flags to form what organisers called “a mass human river”, while sculptures of marine and freshwater animals such as whales and jellyfish were raised to float above the crowd.

Others carried signs reading “Stop the plop”, “Species not faeces”, and “Cut the crap”, and chanted slogans such as “Private water’s full of crap, take our water back!”

Olympic rower Imogen Grant said the UK’s rivers had experienced a “horrendous decline” since the start of her career.

“Our rivers are in a terrible state,” she told protesters at the rally.

“When I learned to row 10 years ago, they were just at the start of this horrendous decline that’s been precipitated probably for the last 30 or 40 years, but I’ve really noticed a difference.

“I spend hours and hours on the water training every day in the rowing boats during my sessions, and seeing nappies floating along, seeing plastic bags, seeing scum along the pontoons that we’re training on… It’s just not good enough and something needs to change.”

Grant, who won gold at the Paris Games earlier this year, said she had previously fallen sick due to her daily contact with polluted river waters.

She said: “Frequently when we would train for weekends on the Thames in London, from a squad of thirteen girls, maybe one or two would get sick every time.

“And we’re not even in the water. We’re just on it.

“It’s really scary.”