§ Mr. Kenneth Carlisleasked the Secretary of State for the Environment when he will be making an announcement about the appointment of a new chairman of the Nature Conservancy Council.
§ Mr. KingI am pleased to announce that I have today appointed Mr. William Wilkinson as chairman of the Nature Conservancy Council. Mr. Wilkinson is 50 years old and has been a director of Kleinwort Benson Limited for the past 10 years. He has had a life-long involvement with conservation. He has been a keen ornithologist for many years and is currently the hon. treasurer of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds. He is a vice-chairman of the Game Conservancy and a Board member of West Palearctic Birds Ltd.
Mr. Wilkinson's management background and his knowledge of and concern for the natural environment make him ideally suited to lead the Nature Conservancy Council.
I should like to take this opportunity of paying tribute to the retiring chairman, Sir Ralph Verney, for the dedicated way in which he has carried out his duties during a period of considerable change and great significance for nature conservation.