A charity has sparked fury from Britons across the UK after it claimed the British countryside is a “colonial space for white people”.
The report, published by Wildlife and Countryside Link, made the claim as part of evidence provided to the House of Commons on racism and its influence on the natural world.
“Cultural barriers reflect that in the UK, it is white British cultural values that have been embedded into the design and management of green spaces and into society's expectations of how people should engage with them,” the report stated.
“Racist colonial legacies that frame nature as a ‘white space’ create further barriers, suggesting that people of colour are not legitimate users of green spaces.”
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In an exclusive poll for GB News membership readers, an overwhelming majority of the 434 people who voted in the poll thought the countryside was not racist. Just three per cent said they did think the countryside was racist while one per cent said they did not know.
The British-Asian broadcaster took aim at social media trolls who he claims have created an “illusion” that the countryside is not welcoming to ethnic minority visitors.
Responding to the report, Arthanayake told The Times: “To brand the entirety of Britain as being racist and colonial does not help encourage people from ethnic minorities to go into the countryside.
“The nuance of this is more to do with access to the countryside.
“I have never been racially abused. I’ve been into the Peak District many times with my family.”
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POLL OF THE DAY: Do you think the countryside is racist? VOTE HEREGetty ImagesWildlife and Countryside Link, a charity umbrella group, counts as many as 80 organisations as its members including the WWF, RSPCA and National Trust.
The report also makes broader claims about Britain and climate change, stating: “The UK’s role in the European colonial project has also driven the current climate and nature crises.”
CEO of the charity group Richard Benwell said: “Nature should be for everyone to enjoy and to benefit from. Sadly however, the evidence shows that people of colour in the UK are more likely to live in areas with less green space and that are more heavily polluted, and at the same time are significantly less likely to visit natural spaces.
“There are multiple complex reasons behind this, as well as contemporary well-documented experiences of racism that people are still encountering.
“Access for all and addressing the barriers people are facing should be one of the guiding lights for all nature sites.”