I’ve written to the Government about deep sea mining, which looks set to begin in 2023 after the Pacific nation of Nauru decided to move ahead with the process last year.

Deep sea mining is likely to be extremely destructive to deep sea ecosystems and could damage vital carbon stores. The truth is, however, that we still don’t know the full extent of the damage that could be caused by deep sea mining – which only makes it more worrying that the UK Government has abstained on calls for a moratorium on the practice.

We need to see global leadership from the Government on this issue. So, I have asked the Secretary of State to clearly set out the UK’s position on deep sea mining, and what the Government is doing to research its effects and promote alternative sources of rare metals.