David Smith

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Sir Roger, and an absolute pleasure to stand alongside my hon. Friend the Member for Paisley and Renfrewshire South (Johanna Baxter), who made a fantastic speech. She was exactly the right person to make it: no one in this place is more of a Sir David Attenborough superfan than she is. To confirm that, all anyone need do is to look at her Twitter history, her bookshelf or her DVD collection. I cannot hope to match her wonderful, in-depth speech, so I will just take a minute or two to make a couple of points. The UK has a long tradition and a long history of recognising those who make a great contribution to public life. If there were no curtains on the windows of this Chamber, we would be able to see some of those figures outside. There are 12 statues in Parliament Square of some outstanding people who have made massive contributions to our national life, like Millicent Fawcett with the Suffragettes, Winston Churchill, who needs no explanation, and Nelson Mandela, whose achievements likewise need no explanation. I believe that Sir David Attenborough fits within that bracket. In his centenary year, we should be thinking, “How do we honour and recognise that?” He has made an unbelievable, perhaps irreplaceable contribution to the way we think about animals and the natural world. He has given us a greater understanding—one that we did not have before. As I say, he is irreplaceable. Sir David has encouraged us all to play our part in stewarding the natural environment. In my constituency of North Northumberland, for example, there are estates run by the Northumberland Wildlife Trust, which is creating one of England’s largest areas for nature. I encourage people to get behind the trust’s campaign, for which it is fundraising right now. I am delighted to be partnering with my hon. Friend the Member for Paisley and Renfrewshire South on this project, and I look forward to making it a success. I urge everyone across the House and across society, including the Government, to get behind this campaign to ensure that ultimately we can create a lasting and permanent memorial to Sir David Attenborough as our national treasure.