How realistic is Michael Gove’s ‘green Brexit’ vision?

Analysis: The environment secretary has provided a tantalising vision of what Brexit could mean for wildlife and farming, but with three months to go there are still plenty of unknowns, says Josh Gabbatiss

Brexit holds out hope for a greener Britain (PA)

We have heard about many versions of Brexit since the day of the referendum in 2016 – hard, soft, and all the colours of the rainbow. Grey and red, or white and blue have been proposed, but perhaps most intriguing is Michael Gove’s promise of a “green Brexit”.

Mr Gove – who is of course an avowed Brexiteer – has spent his time as environment secretary enthusiastically making the case for such an approach. In his view, leaving the EU means we can not only match Europe for green policies, but outclass them.

This is easier said than done. Most of the UK’s environmental protections are based on EU law, meaning from the outset they were set for severe disruption, and the officials in Mr Gove’s department had a big job on their hands.