These three post-Brexit bills bulldoze a hole through environmental protections | Fiona Harvey

Wildlife, air quality and fish stocks are all at risk as ministers water down EU regulationsHedgehogs, yellowhammers and dormice did not figure highly in the EU referendum campaign, but they may turn out to be some of the first losers from Brexit. Rules on farmers cutting hedgerows and field margins that have protected the habitats of a variety of at-risk species are being lost amid the biggest shake-up of nature regulations in four decades.For three years, ministers have been proclaiming that leaving the EU would allow Britain to strengthen its environmental protections, and that all the benefits of membership would be faithfully carried over. Now we can see the worth of those promises, in a trio of bills set before parliament. The environment bill, agriculture bill and fisheries bill replace the EU's comprehensive framework directives, common agricultural policy and common fisheries policy. Continue reading...