RWM
Paxman calls out Britain’s litter louts
ON the second day of the event, Jeremy Paxman delivered an impassioned speech at RWM 2019 tearing into Britain’s litter louts and the organisations who fail to deliver effective clean-up services.
The Clean Up Britain patron bemoaned the state of our once-green countryside and said that littering is a social- behavioural problem that should be taken as seriously as drink-driving.
“We have lost our sense of ownership,” he told the packed theatre space at the NEC, Birmingham. “There seems to be very little in the way of pride in our surroundings anymore.
“Litter is a terrible thing and it doesn’t have to be this way.”
The broadcaster, who became a household name as a ferocious news interviewer, declared that cigarette butts and chewing gum accounted for an astonishing 40% of litter in Britain. However, cigarette and chewing gum manufacturers contribute very little - if anything - towards the cost of cleaning it up, or funding public awareness campaigns to change behaviour.
And they were not the only ones in his crosshairs. He called the Department for Environmental, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) as being “the most useless ministry in government”, saying: “I want DEFRA to get off their backsides and show some urgency about litter!” He also labelled Keep Britain Tidy as “even more useless”.
“We used to be a nation of shopkeepers; now, we are a nation of litter louts,” he said. “I don’t want to tell people how to live their lives, but [littering] seems to me to be the very definition of anti-social behaviour.”
Paxman was joined on stage by his dog, Derek, as he went on to explain how dangerous litter can be to animals, both domestic and wild, and how public awareness campaigns in the past have seen greater success when stressing the harm litter does to animals. He also proposed technology to identify the number plates of those who litter in drive-through food establishments.
Attendees at the show praised Paxman for his passion and outspokenness, both at the event and on social media.
JEREMY PAXMAN
There seems to be very little in the way of pride in our surroundings anymore.”
Jeremy Paxman speaking at RWM 19 25
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68
