The Independent yesterday published a letter from Prospect's general secretary Paul Noon warning that the Public Bodies Bill means that in relation to the sale of Forestry Commission land, there would be no specific parliamentary debate on the sale of woodlands.

He urged all who care about our forests to visit or write to their MP asking them to oppose this ‘dangerous and arbitrary bill'.

Noon said: "Many of the advisory bodies being abolished cost peanuts because the experts who serve on them do it for the common good, not profit. Other bodies, such as regional development agencies, either generate or save money."