Zac Goldsmith and Nadine Dorries urge voters to desert Tories: ‘The PM simply could not care less’

Zac Goldsmith and Nadine Dorries have launched a fresh attack on Rishi Sunak, urging anyone who cares about animal welfare to vote against the Conservatives at the next election.

Lord Goldsmith, a Tory peer and former environment minister, said anybody who “cares even one jot” about the issue should choose another party, claiming the prime minister “could not care less”.

He was backed by Ms Dorries, the former culture secretary and Boris Johnson ally, who echoed his call for animal welfare supporters to ditch the Tories.

Lord Goldsmith’s latest broadside against Mr Sunak comes months after he quit as a minister over the PM’s “apathy” toward climate change.

The fresh outburst was sparked by Sir Ranulph Fiennes, Ricky Gervais and Dame Joanna Lumley accusing Mr Sunak of “reneging” on Tory promises to ban the import to Britain of lion paws and other hunting trophies.

The celebrities urged the prime minister to introduce a bill banning imports from trophy hunting, which was a pledge in the Conservative manifesto for the 2019 election. The government has four times promised a bill to introduce the ban, but is yet to do so.

“You have not, we’re sorry to say, lived up to your words. You have reneged on your words,” the celebrities said in a letter to Mr Sunak seen by The Times.

Writing on X, formerly Twitter, Lord Goldsmith, also a Johnson ally, said the Conservative Party had been pressing ahead with an “Action Plan for Animal Welfare” under the former PM but that had been reversed under Mr Sunak.

The plan would have introduced laws banning live exports of farm animals, keeping monkeys as pets, importing hunting trophies from endangered species and the import of shark fins, he said.

Lord Goldsmith said Mr Sunak “promised to deliver the plan” as part of his leadership campaign, and “woolly-headed” MPs believed him.

“Today almost every single part of that plan has been ditched … by Rishi Sunak,” he said.

The Tory peer added: “The stark truth is that anyone who cares even one jot about animal welfare will need to look elsewhere at the next election.

“The current PM simply could not care less.”

Ms Dorries, who has consistently criticised Mr Sunak since announcing her resignation as an MP in June, reposted Lord Goldsmith’s criticism, suggesting voters concerned about animal welfare should vote against the party.

In June, Lord Goldsmith told Mr Sunak his “apathy” on climate change would cost them votes at the next general election.

The peer, who had been working on the environment brief at the foreign office, said: “Even if this existential challenge leaves you personally unmoved, there is a world of people who do care very much. And you will need their votes.”

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said: “We are committed to delivering on our manifesto pledge to ban the import of hunting trophies and will continue to explore ways to bring this forward.”