IN his latest statement, as he has done throughout, Mark

Harper refers only to the forthcoming Forestry White Paper

and ignores the Public Bodies Bill.

 It is the Public Bodies Bill, a piece of legislation

currently on its passage through Parliament, that will

remove the special protection currently applied to the

 In many regards, the imminent Forestry White Paper

is a "red herring". Whatever the Government's immediate

intentions are for the Forest of Dean, once our special

protection is removed, our Forest and our currently

enjoyed privileges are vulnerable.

Mark Harper's current position is like that of a

landlord who insists that the lock is removed from your

front door so that he can gain access. He hasn't yet

decided why he needs access. It might be to knick your

new plasma TV or to allow in Lawrence Llewellyn-Bowen

to give the place a make-over. But don't worry, everything

will be OK; trust me.

 Mark, your constituents are not stupid. We want the

door to remain locked. Our Forest is not for sale.

–  Bruce Hogan, Labour and Co-operative Lydbrook

and Ruardean, Labour Leader FODDC.