Ben Watt, one half of the pop duo Everything but the Girl, slammed the leader of Barnet Council Daniel Thomas, on Twitter. 

During questions to the council’s leader at a meeting on 27th July, Cllr. Thomas said a biodiversity officer was a “waste of taxpayers money” in response to questions posed by Labour Councillor Alan Schneiderman. 

Watt retweeted Schneiderman’s complaint about the council leaders response writing:

“Leader of @BarnetCouncil says biodiversity officer a “waste of taxpayer’s money.” How do you protect an SSSI [Site of Special Scientific Interest] with no biodiversity plan, no protected flora & fauna list, no invasive species map? “Cleaner, greener future” trumpeted in March. Yeah, right.”

Watt has been campaigning on Twitter for the Welsh Harp Reservoir in Brent to be better protected. He states that photos he has taken of the reservoir “show 35 yrs of chronic neglect” which “has turned” this site of special scientific interest (SSSI) into “a lost jungle”. 

The planning of a bridge, which will be constructed by Barratt Homes, was criticised by Watt who said the bridge “will access a sports hub from new private homes, yet in the process wreck lost lagoons, islands and #SSSI wildlife habitats once built with public money”.

 He goes on to write that Barnet Council has gone ahead with planning “ignoring objections from leading conservation bodies”. He claims the decision to build the 180m bridge was made by “misrepresent[ing] the area as [a] derelict woodland. It is in fact [an] abandoned landscaped #SSSI habitat protected under environmental law.”

In June, Councillors clashed over the state of the Welsh Harp which Labour’s Anne Clarke claimed was “dirty, litter-filled and polluted”. Environment committee chairman Dean Cohen responded that “action has been taken and will continue to be taken” to protect the area.